Jennifer Lopez Opens Up About Her Hustlers Oscar Snub: “I Felt Like I Let Everyone Down”

Jennifer Lopez is opening up about not receiving an Oscar nomination for her role in Hustlers. On Feb. 29, the 50-year-old actress spoke with Oprah Winfrey at the Los Angeles stop of Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus tour. She admitted that she felt like she let down fans and loved ones after delivering a compelling performance as Ramona. “I was sad. I was a little sad because there was a lot of buildup to it,” she said.

She went on to share how widespread acclaim led her to believe she’d be recognized by the academy. “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 it doesn’t, you’re crazy,'” she said. “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. Also, I felt like my whole team – most of my team has been with me for years, 20, 25 years – and I think they had a lot of hopes on that, and they wanted it, too, so I felt like I let everyone down a little bit.”

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Lopez noted that after the snub, one of many at this year’s Oscars, she had to evaluate her priorities. “I had to re-examine like, ‘Why do you do this, what are you so sad about right now? You just had the most amazing year of your life, you just had the biggest opening of a movie in your career, you just walked the runway in Milan, and had a fashion moment, you’re doing the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks. What is it?'”

She then acknowledged her feelings were rooted in wanting to feel accepted. “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. I don’t need this award right here to tell me that I am enough.”

Although Lopez didn’t get an Oscar nomination for her role, she did earn nods at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Critics’ Choice Awards. She also won a Satellite Award and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, both for best supporting actress.