One of the most headline-making Oscar snubs in recent years occurred when Jennifer Lopez failed to secure her first-ever nod, for best supporting actress in Hustlers. Lopez had been considered a favorite for Academy recognition that season after her showstopping turn as enterprising stripper Ramona, but came up empty-handed on nominations morning. The omission was painful for J.Lo, as seen in the first trailer for her upcoming Netflix documentary, Halftime.
In the preview, Lopez talks about her struggle “to be heard, to be seen, to be taken seriously” in Hollywood. “It was hard. I just had very low self-esteem,” she says in a voiceover as footage of her crying while looking at her phone in bed is shown. “I had to really figure out who I was and believe in that, and not believe in anything else.”
Lopez was snubbed in favor of Florence Pugh (Little Women), Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell), Margot Robbie (Bombshell), Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), and eventual winner Laura Dern (Marriage Story). But she had little time to lick her wounds before co-headlining the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira. “I do this, not for an award,” Lopez says in the trailer as her performance looms. “No, I do this to connect with people and make them feel things because I want to feel something.”
Ben Affleck, Lopez’s now-fiancé after a twenty-year break, is also featured in the trailer talking about negative press coverage of his partner: “I said to her once, ‘Doesn’t this bother you?’ And she said, ‘I expected this.’” At the time of her snub, Affleck—who had not yet reunited with Lopez—criticized the Academy for its oversight. “She should have been nominated,” he said then. “She’s the real thing…. How awesome is it that she had her biggest hit movie at 50? That’s fucking baller.”
Lopez first opened up about her Oscar nomination that wasn’t to Oprah Winfrey, telling the mogul that she “felt like I let everyone down a little bit.” J.Lo admitted, “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.” Still, she maintained, “I don’t need this award to tell me I’m enough.”
Her Netflix documentary Halftime will premiere on the opening night of the Tribeca Festival on June 8, before debuting on the streamer on June 14.