Jennifer Lopez Speaks Out On ‘Hustlers’ Oscar Snub

Jennifer Lopez opened up to Oprah Winfrey on Saturday (February 29) about her disappointment following her Oscars snub.

Speaking at Winfrey’s “2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour,” Lopez admitted that finding out that her performance in Hustlers wasn’t nominated for an Oscar was a bit of a letdown, after many believed her portrayal of Ramona deserved a nod, Variety reports.

“I was a little sad because there was a lot of buildup to it. There were so many articles. I got so many good notices — more than ever in my career — and there was a lot of ‘She’s going to get nominated for an Oscar. It’s going to happen; if she doesn’t, you’re crazy.’ I’m reading all the articles going, ‘Oh my god, could this happen?’ And then it didn’t and I was like, ‘Ouch.’ It was a little bit of a letdown,” Lopez said.

The actress got even more candid telling Oprah that for awhile, she felt like she let her close friends and family down.  

“Most of my team has been with me for years,” Lopez told Winfrey. “I think they had a lot of hopes on that. They wanted it too, and I felt like I let everybody down a little bit.” 

Luckily, Lopez has moved on regardless and being proud of her performance, she says she doesn’t need the approval of the Academy. She earned nominations at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Indie Spirit Awards for her role in Hustlers.

“You realize you want people’s validation. You want people to say you did a good job, and I realized, ‘No, you don’t need that. You do this because you love it,” she said. “I don’t need this award to tell me I’m enough.”