Yahoo Lifestyle Someone Finally Explained The Viral “Mi Gente Latino” Moment To Jennifer Lopez After She Revealed That She Didn’t Understand Why It Was Funny
It’s safe to say that Jennifer Lopez had an eventful 2024, with no shortage of projects and viral moments.
From the release of her ninth studio album and movie This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, to her almost-tour, to what many have dubbed the “orange drink incident,” J.Lo has been impossible to miss for the past year.
Not to mention her split with now ex-husband Ben Affleck, which has been finalized as of this week.
Kicking off 2025, J.Lo is now promoting Unstoppable, a new biography drama in which she stars alongside Moonlight actor Jharrel Jerome.
And in a new press interview ahead of the film's release, Jennifer was asked about one of her most iconic viral moments of all time.
At the 2011 American Music Awards, Jennifer won Favorite Latin Artist over Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull, and she gave a gorgeous speech thanking her contributors.
However, her win is most remembered for her final word of thanks. “I don’t know what to say,” she said, before lifting the award and declaring, “MI GENTE LATINO.”
My favorite part of the moment is the immediate pan to Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez, who are seen celebrating J.Lo’s win. Taylor then leans over and asks, “She speaks Spanish?” making Selena absolutely crack up.
For any non-Spanish speakers, Jennifer was thanking her community — specifically, her “Latino people.” But unfortunately, the grammatically correct phrase would have been: “Mi gente Latina.”
And while the slip-up was a human mistake, totally understandable in the heat of the moment, “Mi gente Latino” was echoed around the globe. It went totally viral and even resurfaced on TikTok as a trending sound over 10 years later.
It’s been referenced countless times online, and Grammy-winner Kali Uchis even mentioned the meme in a speech accepting a Billboard Latin Music Award in 2024. The cultural impact.
Now, almost 14 years later, J.Lo finally understands why the phrase is so iconic.
In a new interview, reporter Javi Ponzo asked if he could say the line with Jennifer before the end of his segment. But before it could happen, Jennifer interjected: “OK, can you explain to me why that’s funny?”
The interviewer immediately protested, saying that everybody loved it. “I thought they were making fun of me!” Jennifer laughed.
“No, no, no! It’s like an icon today,” Javi clarified quickly.
And then it all clicked into place for J.Lo. “‘Mi gente Latina,’ but you said ‘mi gente Latino,’” said the interviewer. “Right! That’s why it’s funny!” exclaimed Jennifer.
Now understanding her mistake, Jennifer revealed that during the speech she was trying to remember if “gente” was a masculine or feminine word. And I’m telling you, anyone who speaks a gendered second language can totally relate.
“We know it’s ‘mi gente Latina,’” said Jennifer to the camera. “In the emotion of the moment, I said ‘mi gente Latino.’”
“I said it wrong on an award show once, and they never let me forget it,” she said.
But J.Lo is nothing if not a good sport. She and Javi ended the interview with an emphatic “MI GENTE LATINO” — and it healed something within me.
I probably think about “MI GENTE LATINO” every single day of my life. Are you as obsessed with this J.Lo moment as I am? LMK down below.
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