As a Latina in Hollywood, Jennifer Lopez has broken many barriers. After starting her career as a Fly Girl on In Living Color, she made the jump from dancer to actress. With Selena, she commanded the highest salary for a Latina actress ($1 million) at the time. And then, she made the leap from actress to singer to producer. Still, when we speak about J.Lo, it’s often about her beauty and booty. Boricua poet Nina Mariah Donovan – tired of this disservice – wrote an ode to Lopez.
Titled My Queen! JLo!, the piece focuses on Jenny’s accomplishments, her philanthropic endeavors, and why she’s inspirational. “I’m tired of clickbait trying to reel us in with your love life,” the poem begins. “Acting like you haven’t become a lifeline of hope for people this country would rather kill off / You have a nonprofit that works harder for family healthcare than the government does / You donated $1 million to Puerto rico while Trump was tossing paper towels / treating our people like worn out backboards.”
Nina – whose poem Nasty Women went viral after Ashley Judd performed it at the Women’s March on Washington – also criticizes publications that choose to merely focus on her outer appearance. “Daily Mail miswrites your booty as the main attraction and not just the tail of a lion,” she continues. “Like we get it! / Even at 48, you’re still a snack! / But you’re the mofongo and a glass of coquito, too / Your beauty and booty are both captivating / like the telenovelas our abuela live through / But they forget your floated from In Living Color Fly Girl / to an It Girl putting color where people were too comfortable with its absence / Caramel demanding to stick out in scenes that would rather settle for vanilla bean.”
J.Lo, clearly moved by Nina’s words, shared a video of the poem on her Instagram page. Check out the full video below: