"Jennifer Lopez"
Episode of SmartLess · June 15, 2026 · 1 h 5 min
Jennifer Lopez talks with the SmartLess hosts about fame, panic attacks, her early acting career, personal healing after divorce, and her current music and film projects.
Summary
Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes opened with banter about Bateman's lost voice, Arnett's tan and sun protection, before Hayes introduced Jennifer Lopez, who joined from a New York hotel after the upfronts. Lopez said an employee's remark that "if you can't do it, none of us can" gave her a lasting sense of responsibility toward the women who looked up to her, and attributed her work ethic to childhood athletics. She named Rita Moreno and West Side Story as her first inspiration.
Lopez described the shock of losing anonymity after Selena, which she said triggered panic attacks, and a separate collapse from exhaustion on the set of Enough after working 98 days straight. She recounted how Heavy D coined the nickname J-Lo, how her role in My Family helped her be taken seriously as an actress, and her chemistry read with George Clooney for Out of Sight. She also recalled leaving college and sleeping in a dance studio after a falling-out with her parents, who had hoped she would become a lawyer.
With her twins about to leave for college, Lopez said she wanted to be intentional about her next several years, and that after her last divorce she canceled a tour to examine her own patterns; Arnett shared a similar realization before starting therapy, and Bateman praised her for growing despite the permissive culture around celebrity. In a closing round Lopez discussed her number-one dance record "Save Me Tonight" after Coachella, the shrinking economics of music videos, a bug crawling on her neck mid-concert, the Google Images origin story, her Netflix film Office Romance with Brett Goldstein and Edward James Olmos, and her Las Vegas residency special.
Chapters
- 0:05
Cold open and host banter
The hosts joke about Bateman's lost voice, Arnett's tan and skin cancer checks, and a family trip photo.
- 7:49
Introducing Jennifer Lopez
Hayes introduces Lopez and the group chats about milk, Monster-in-Law, awards and Arnett's memorabilia.
- 14:19
Responsibility, drive and early inspiration
Lopez discusses feeling responsible to women, her athletic work ethic, and Rita Moreno as her inspiration.
- 20:29
Fame, anonymity and panic attacks
Lopez recalls losing anonymity after Selena and collapsing from exhaustion while filming Enough.
- 27:51
J-Lo nickname and acting breakthrough
Lopez explains how Heavy D inspired the J-Lo name and how My Family and Out of Sight established her as an actress.
- 33:33
Choosing what comes next
Lopez talks about realizing her power, her kids leaving for college, and wanting to be intentional.
- 39:17
Self-reflection and healing
Lopez, Arnett and Bateman discuss personal growth, self-love and change after her last divorce.
- 48:04
Leaving home for dance
Lopez recalls dropping out of college, clashing with her parents and sleeping in a dance studio.
- 50:56
Cursive and handwriting
The group laments schools dropping cursive and their own poor handwriting.
- 51:55
Music career speed round
Lopez discusses her Coachella debut, the economics of music videos, and a bug on her neck mid-concert.
- 57:18
Final questions and plugs
Lopez covers her cursing, Google Images, Office Romance, Bye Bye Birdie and her Vegas residency special.
- 1:01:37
Hosts' debrief
The hosts praise Lopez's work ethic and tease Hayes over his Bye Bye Birdie question.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez says an employee's remark gave her a lasting sense of responsibility to behave well as a role model.
“And it gave me a feeling of responsibility to do things right all the time”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez attributes her work ethic to childhood athletics, starting with track at age eight or nine.
“I started running track when I was, you know, eight or nine years old and I was practicing every day”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez says realizing she had permanently lost her anonymity after Selena triggered her panic attacks.
“i think in my mind i thought you can't get that back that's something that's lost forever and i remember that's when i started having panic attacks”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez recounts that she collapsed from exhaustion on the Enough set after working 98 consecutive days.
“I remember not clocking that I had worked like, 98 days in a row without taking a day off”
Linked moment · 26:33Skip to 26:33 using a listen link in the info box.
Will ArnettArnett rejects the view that intense paparazzi attention is simply the price of fame.
“there are a lot of people who go like, oh, well, that's the price you pay for fame and all that kind of bullshit”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez credits rapper Heavy D, who called her Jenny Lo, with inspiring the J-Lo name and album title.
“he just always used to call me Jenny Lo. He's like, J-Lo, J-Lo, Jenny Lo”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez says her small role in My Family convinced the industry she was a serious actress.
“with that piece of tape, people were like, oh, She can act. She's an actress”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez says that with her children leaving for college she intends to choose her projects deliberately.
“I want to be very intentional about what I do over these next four or five years”
- Jason Bateman
Bateman argues that celebrity culture is permissive enough that famous people need not grow, making Lopez's self-work notable.
“there's this real permissive culture around celebrity and you don't kind of have to be the best part of you and you don't have to grow”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez says that after her last divorce she canceled her tour to confront her own role in her problems.
“And after my last divorce, I just sat there and I was like, I canceled my Torah and I sat there”
- Will Arnett
Arnett describes a morning realization that he was the problem, shortly before entering therapy.
“I had a moment before I got into real therapy a couple of years ago”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez argues that people are capable of real change, citing her own experience.
“I really do believe people are capable of change because I've experienced it”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez says her new dance single reached number one after she performed it at Coachella.
“I had a new record out called Save Me Tonight. And I went and I performed it at Coachella. And after that, like went to number one”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez says music video budgets have collapsed from millions of dollars to roughly $75,000–$100,000 in the streaming era.
“Like when I started, they'd spend millions of dollars on videos, like a million dollars, two million dollars for big budget videos”
Listen from 53:42 · Music video economics in the streaming era
- Sean Hayes
Hayes says Google created Google Images because of searches for Lopez's green Versace dress.
“that Google didn't have Google Images until that green Versace dress”
- Jennifer Lopez
Lopez praises Brett Goldstein's writing on Office Romance for pairing hard jokes with wholesomeness.
“His brand of like writing where it's like really kind of hard jokes, but with this wholesomeness at the end of the day”
- Will Arnett
Arnett argues the public cannot truly know celebrities' experiences until hearing from them directly.
“Until we hear from them what their experience is, we don't really know”
People
In the conversation
- Jason BatemanAmerican actor and director, co-host of SmartLess
- Will ArnettCanadian-American actor and comedian, co-host of SmartLess
- Sean HayesAmerican actor and comedian, co-host of SmartLess
- Jennifer LopezSinger and actress
Discussed
- Rita MorenoPuerto Rican actress, star of West Side Story and Lopez's childhood inspiration
- Heavy DAmerican rapper credited by Lopez with coining the nickname J-Lo
- Steven SoderberghAmerican film director of Out of Sight
- George ClooneyAmerican actor, Lopez's co-star in Out of Sight
- Edward James OlmosAmerican actor who played Lopez's father in Selena and Office Romance
- Brett GoldsteinActor and writer known for Ted Lasso
- Gregory NavaAmerican director of My Family and Selena
- David GuettaFrench DJ and producer behind Lopez's dance record
- Sergey BrinGoogle co-founder who Rose said toured him through Google X
- Linda LopezJennifer Lopez's sister
Topics
Related episodes
Paul McCartneyGood Hang with Amy Poehler · Oct 13, 2026 · 1 h 17 min
Amy Poehler talks with Paul McCartney about the Beatles, Wings, songwriting, his new album Boys of Dungeon Lane, family, and SNL, with questions from Stella McCartney.
#2561 - LL Cool JThe Joe Rogan Experience · Oct 6, 2026 · 2 h 38 min
Joe Rogan and LL Cool J discuss the birth of hip-hop and Def Jam, discipline and mastery, martial arts, lost civilizations, time travel and artificial intelligence.
#345 Wynonna Judd - Dolly Parton, Naomi Judd's Death & Finding Her Biological FatherThe Shawn Ryan Show · Oct 5, 2026 · 4 h 57 min
Wynonna Judd tells Shawn Ryan about her chaotic childhood, The Judds, her mother Naomi's suicide and her daughter's addiction, while husband Cactus Moser recounts his motorcycle accident.
Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew LillardMorbid · Oct 5, 2026 · 1 h 52 min
Actor Matthew Lillard joins Morbid hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart to discuss Mike Flanagan's Carrie, Scream, Five Nights at Freddy's, his career and Dungeons & Dragons.
India's Gig Economy, Education & The Future of Work | Chetan Bhagat | Tomorrow TodayTomorrow, Today · Sep 29, 2026 · 2 h 9 min
Shekhar Natarajan and novelist Chetan Bhagat discuss India's gig economy, education, inequality, AI governance and creativity, fame, and Bhagat's life story.
SYLVESTER STALLONE: “I Wasn’t Stupid. I Was Just Misunderstood.”On Purpose with Jay Shetty · Sep 28, 2026 · 1 h 29 min
Jay Shetty interviews Sylvester Stallone about his painful childhood, rejection, creating Rocky, his parents, career slumps, health, marriage and his memoir The Steps.
More from SmartLess
"Seth Meyers"Sep 28, 2026 · 60 min
Seth Meyers talks with SmartLess hosts about Chicago improv, Boom Chicago, his Saturday Night Live years as writer and Weekend Update anchor, and hosting Late Night.
- "Timothy Olyphant"
Jul 20, 2026 · 60 min
SmartLess hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes talk with actor Timothy Olyphant about arrests, acting range, Deadwood, directors' notes and upcoming projects.
- "Olivia Wilde"
Jul 13, 2026 · 1 h 3 min
Olivia Wilde tells the SmartLess hosts about changing her name, working in a casting office, her acting career, and directing Booksmart and The Invite.
- "Ike Barinholtz"
Jul 6, 2026 · 54 min
The SmartLess hosts talk with comedian Ike Barinholtz about his Chicago improv roots, MADtv, The Studio, Running Point, family life and his trivia podcast.
- "Emma Thompson"
Jun 29, 2026 · 58 min
Emma Thompson talks with the SmartLess hosts about fame, her comedy roots, Harry Potter, Sense and Sensibility, Sondheim, boredom, and British food.
From the publisher
Share your cookie-dough with the world! …It’s Jennifer Lopez. Reading all the books, doing all the things, endless possibility, and a little piece of tape. Plus more advice from Dr. Dingdong, on an all-new SmartLess.
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.