Triple threat singer, dancer, and actor, Jennifer Lopez, has been an international icon since
the 90s. She's also been painted as a demanding diva since day one. But you don't have to
take our word for it. From assistants to agencies, here are the ex-staffers who have since turned
on JLo.
"She's not giving me what I want. This is not what I want."
Hakob Manoukian worked as a chauffeur for Lopez and her then-husband Marc Anthony in
2005 before eventually being promoted to Lopez's full-time personal Head of Security in early
2011, according to TMZ. But by September of that year, Manoukian was gone from the staff
roster. He then filed a lawsuit for breach of contract and wrongful termination against
Lopez, her company Nuyorican Productions, and her manager Benny Medina .
Manoukian claimed his agreement with Lopez included a $72,000 yearly salary with additional
earnings potentially increasing that number to $200,000. According to E!, however, he
claimed that he earned none of that extra pay. CNN further reported that the suit alleged
quote, "intolerable" labor conditions — like working more than 40 hours a week and not
being provided meal breaks, which forced him to resign.
"Disaster. It was a disaster."
Lopez filed a countersuit against Manoukian for a reported, quote, "$20 million in damages,"
claiming the former driver was allegedly blackmailing her for $2.8 million as he threatened to expose
private information he overheard when working for her. The countersuit was dismissed in
December of 2012 and the singer settled Manoukian's original lawsuit for undisclosed terms in
2013.
In July 2003, Lopez fired her manager, Benny Medina. She also accused him of misappropriating
her money, and sought, quote, "millions in back commissions plus 10 percent interest,"
according to Billboard. The assertion was that Medina was not a licensed talent agent,
which entitles a performer to seek a refund for payments to that agent, up to one year.
For Lopez, this included:
"10 percent of earnings from movies and television, 15 percent of her music, recording and publishing
earnings and 10 percent of her earnings from […] fashion and cosmetic interests."
Medina denied the allegations, telling The Hollywood Reporter,
"Jennifer Lopez, by making false allegations against me, is now trying to add me to the
long list of people whom she has used and discarded after she took from them all she
could get. […] I will defend myself against these lies and will collect from her every
dollar for which I am owed."
Less than two weeks after the fallout hit the headlines, The New York Times reported
that a settlement was in the works. And by December of that year, the dispute had been
settled, according to Fox News. Lopez later rehired Medina to revive her music career
in 2005. And the two have remained friends and business partners ever since.
"From this day forward, Jenny from the Block has a new address."
Forbes credits makeup artist Scott Barnes with creating the method behind JLo's iconic
"glow," which immediately started appearing on everyone, everywhere.
"It was like one of those moments where you're like ok I got goosebumps because I know this
is gonna go everywhere and everybody's gonna go nuts over it."
The two have worked together since 2000 on a wide variety of projects, including her
role in 2019's Hustlers and her Super Bowl halftime show. But while their professional
relationship and friendship spans two decades, there was a time when Barnes apparently wasn't
on JLo's nice list.
After rumors circulated that Barnes and two other insiders leaked plans of JLo and Anthony's
secret marriage, JLo's team shut Barnes out. He told The Jeff Probst Show,
"Yeah, it was like, nobody would talk to me. It was like I had the plague. Fun"
When the truth came out that Barnes did not leak the news — or even know about the wedding
ahead of time — he received a phone call, presumably from Lopez, whom Barnes claimed
said:
"It was like, 'Hey, it was a big misunderstanding. You know we have a lot of stuff coming up
and I really miss you so let's just get back to work.'"
Although Barnes was extremely diplomatic in his recounting of the temporary fallout, it
doesn't appear that he ever received a direct apology. What's even more interesting is that
considering Barnes and Lopez quickly reconciled, he chose not to keep this story about her
in-house.
Geetanjali "Gilly" Iyer was a long time assistant for Lopez until 2013 when she reportedly left
without notice. According to Radar Online, Iyer went to work for Jermaine Dupri a week
after he linked up with Mariah Carey's management. Lopez and Carey have been publicly painted
as rivals for quite some time, so Iyer jumping ship to Lopez's alleged enemy's camp seemed
to sting even more. Reports also surfaced that JLo's then boyfriend, Casper Smart, allegedly
ruffled feathers within her staff. A source told the outlet,
"Casper always insisted that Jennifer's staff call him Mr. Smart and even demanded that
Gilly get him drinks. Gilly had enough, she was over it. Gilly had been looking to leave
for sometime. […] Jennifer was stunned."
"Gotta have a sense of humor, because, and you gotta laugh at my jokes even when they're
not funny."
Iyer may not have publicly trashed JLo, but is there anything colder than leaving a celeb's
staff to go work for their rival? For the record, in 2015, Page Six revealed that JLo
even reportedly had a, quote, "No Mariah" clause in her contract with manager Benny
Medina, barring him from managing Lopez and Carey simultaneously.
In 2003, Endeavor Talent Agency reportedly forced Lopez to make a choice whether to leave
them or fire her manager Benny Medina, who they reportedly no longer wanted to deal with,
according to E! News. In a shocking move, Lopez did fire Medina, as well as her Endeavor
agent Patrick Whitesell — and then signed with rival agency CAA.
"I am youthful and timeless at every age. I am ever-evolving and my life is full of
joy and adventure. OK, you can run that back."
At the time, Lopez and actor Ben Affleck were a couple. Whitesell had long represented Affleck
and had added Lopez to his roster a few months before the firing. Despite gaining traction
in her acting career and being the girlfriend of their longtime client, the agency still
gave her an ultimatum. And while it was Lopez who swung the axe on the professional relationship,
Endeavor seemingly made it public they didn't value her enough to figure out how to make
things work. After the fallout, the agency said in a statement,
"Endeavor has parted company with Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer is an incredibly talented
actress and a good friend, and we wish her much continued success. However, as an agency,
we were no longer able to work with her manager Benny Medina. We thought it best for Jennifer
and Endeavor that we part company at this time."
While JLo was in Germany during her 2012 world tour, she was reportedly staying in a hotel
room on the same floor that housekeeper Pray Dodaj was cleaning. A big fan, Dodaj took
it upon herself to attempt to get an autograph from Lopez, only to be shut down by two assistants
at the door to her room, according to the Daily Star. Dodaj told the outlet,
"A day later, the cleaning company that employed me at the hotel called and said that Ms. Lopez
had complained. I was fired right there on the phone. Because of an autograph."
After the story circulated, Lopez denied the alleged notion she had the housekeeper fired,
tweeting,
"C'mon [I] thought you knew me better than this. […] [I] would never get anyone fired
over an autograph. [First] I heard of this was on Twitter. #hurtful."
A rep from JLo's staff further defended the singer by citing her recent meet and greets,
and a source for TMZ claimed an unidentified housekeeper had allegedly burst into JLo's
room and security then guided her out for safety purposes. A senior staff member at
the hotel seemingly confirmed the latter account, and justified the housekeeper's firing by
telling E!,
"She has acted contrary to the contractual arrangements and disturbed the privacy of
our guests."
In 2013, JLo's ethics came into question when it was reported that she earned roughly $10
million performing for shady dictators, according to The Independent. The outlet also pointed
out that the Human Rights Foundation and others were critical of the star's decision to put
on a private performance for the president of Turkmenistan , who's government allegedly
restricted free speech and imprisoned those who spoke against the nation's alleged corruption.
"I love Jennifer Lopez, but I see her, I see her as the type that never turns down a buck
regardless of how it's gotten."
JLo's then-publicist Mark Young issued a response, but the statement made JLo's team appear surprisingly
ill-informed. He said at the time,
"This was not a government sponsored event or political in nature. The event was vetted
by her representatives, had there been knowledge of human-rights issues of any kind, Jennifer
would not have attended."
That statement didn't go over well, with a deputy director for Human Rights Watch explaining
that JLo's team didn't have to dig deep for information revealing the reportedly corrupt
leadership. Two months after the backlash, Young was fired from JLo's team. With the
whole fiasco blowing up in the singer's face, it was certainly possible that Young took
the fall for what appeared to be some late-in-the-game blame-shifting.
The singer who famously declared she was just Jenny from the Block has weathered tales of
alleged snobbery for years. In just one instance reported by the Daily Star, contractors working
on JLo's house were reportedly informed they were not allowed to communicate directly with
the star. A source told the tab,
"She has made it clear that if any of the contractors, drivers or domestic help made
eye contact or [spoke] to her, she will not be impressed."
"Alright let's just prepare everybody for that. Why don't you send that edict down.
Yes."
The singer's supposed superstar antics apparently extend to service workers who aren't even
directly employed by her, but who have had the unfortunate experience of being snubbed
by her. A source told Star,
"She doesn't speak to salespeople, restaurant or hotel staff — or flight attendants. She
only talks through her assistants."
"Everybody was just staring at me."
A United Airlines flight attendant backed up the claim, sharing a similar experience
with the singer, and adding,
"I just said, 'what can I get you to drink?' But Jennifer refused to even acknowledge me.
She turned her head away and told her personal assistant, 'Please tell him I'd like a Diet
Coke and lime.' She wouldn't even look at me."
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