J Lo: ‘Director wanted to see my boobs – a bit of the Bronx came out’
Jennifer Lopez has revealed how she reacted to a director demanding to look at her breasts during a fitting.
The singer and actress, who is from the Bronx in New York City, said she refused to take her top off because they were “not on set” of a film which involved her being nude.
She was speaking during a Hollywood Reporter roundtable interview with other actresses, including Scarlet Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o and Renee Zellweger.
Asked by Johansson about the encounter early in her career, which she has briefly spoken about before, she said: “He wanted to see my boobs. And I was like, ‘We’re not on set’.
“He was crazy. And I said no, I stood up for myself.”
The actress, 50, who is starring in crime drama Hustlers, said the director dared to ask her when there was another woman in the room.
She added: “But it was so funny because I remember being so panicked in the moment.
“And by the way, there was a costume designer in the room with me.
“So there was another woman in the room and he says this and I said no.
“Luckily a little bit of the Bronx came out, and I was like, ‘I don’t have to show you my – no. On the set, you see them’.”
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Johansson pointed out that “not everybody would feel that way”.
Lopez agreed: “That’s the thing, because if you give in, in that moment, all of a sudden that person is off and running, thinking they can do whatever they want.
“And because I put up a little boundary right there and said no, he laid off and then later on apologised.
“But the minute he walked out of the room the costume designer was like, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry that just happened’.”
The actresses went on to talk about how “inappropriate” it was that lots of auditions when they were younger were held in hotel rooms.
Zellweger added: “It just kind of afforded an opportunity to be inappropriate if you were so inclined.”
