Jennifer Lopez spoke candidly about the unique struggles that come with being the offspring of famous parents.
During a roundtable interview with Audacy, Lopez opened up about her 15-year-old twins, Max and Emme, whom she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
“Being the child of famous parents is really not something that many people can understand, and I feel for [my kids] for that because they didn’t choose that,” the actor and singer said. “They have just started letting me know, like, how people treat them … When they walk into the room, that’s what people are thinking about. They’re not seeing them for who they are, and I think that that has to be a really hard thing for them. So I would love to be able to protect them from that.”
Being the children of an ultra-famous person like J.Lo inevitably puts their lives in the spotlight. “Being judged by people that you don’t even know … it’s I think really difficult for them to grow up and be themselves,” Lopez continued. “They know that there’s a lens on them, and that’s—that’s hard. Probably not a very relatable thing to say ’cause a lot of people don’t understand.”
The “Let’s Get Loud” singer also talked about how their struggles affect her. “I did that to them, and so that again, we have this guilt as moms about what we do and what we brought into their lives,” she said.
During the interview, Lopez additionally reflected on how her most recent movie role—in The Mother—has made her reflect on societal expectations about motherhood.
“What is the perfect mom? And what does that mean?” she said. “The truth is, we all do it differently. And we do it differently to different children in our family. … So there really is no perfect version; it’s just about being the best version of a mom you can be, with your specific set of skills, your specific set of experiences, and who you are as a person.”
She added, “I love that idea, because I’m not a traditional mom. I’m not a stay-at-home mom. I’m a single mom, I’m a working mom. In a way, I’m kind of a famous mom, which is a weird thing for kids, too. So I have a whole set of things that is … what people think of as not normal. So I like that idea of bringing that to the table, like you don’t have to be a specific type of mom to be a great mom.”
