Jennifer Lopez just wants to protect her kids.
Coming off the release of her latest action blockbuster, The Mother, where she plays an assassin who comes out of hiding to protect her daughter, J.Lo is reflecting on the many things she wants to protect her real life kids from.
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In an interview posted last Thursday, the two-time Golden Globe nominee sat down with Audacy, where she confessed to some “guilt” she feels as a famous mother:
“First of all, I think being the child of famous parents is not something many people can understand, and I feel for them for that because they didn’t choose that.”
The Hustlers star famously welcomed her twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony back in 2008. And the famously is the problem, she’s finding. She continued:
“[Max and Emme] have just started letting me know, like, how people treat them and do things like that, so when they walk into a room, that’s what people are thinking about. They’re not seeing them for who they are, and I think that has to be a really hard thing for them, so I would love to be able to protect them from that.”
The Get on the Floor singer added she also wants to protect them from being “bullied.” She explained:
“Being judged. Everybody has to deal with being bullied. It doesn’t matter who you are, you could get bullied. But being judged by people that you don’t even know, in a way, I think is really difficult for them to kind of grow up and be themselves. They know that there’s a lens on them, and that’s hard. Probably not a very relatable thing to say, because a lot of people don’t understand, they’re like, ‘Okay, so you’re famous, and your kids are-’ blah. Right? But it’s hard for them, I think. I did that to them, and so that, you know, again, we have this guilt as moms, like what we do, and what we brought into their lives.”
That’s quite the burden to carry as a famous parent just trying to do right by their kids — who really didn’t ask to be in the spotlight, like she said!
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The Selena actress further added:
“I think I would want to protect them from everything. From heartbreak, from disappointment, from not getting the job they want, not realizing a dream of theirs that they really want, to get in the school play, or to do this, or whatever. You want to protect them from everything. You don’t ever want them to feel a moment of pain in their lives, but that’s not realistic.”
So, she learned a lesson from her onscreen momma character:
“You realize as you get older the pain is necessary, and that the pain is actually good and the pain kind of makes you feel a little bit like a warrior when you get through it, and you get there, and you feel really strong and good, and I want them to feel strong, and I want them to feel good, and I want them to unapologetically be themselves, and stand in their own truths and their own power. That’s what I want to instill in them, so I don’t have to protect them from anything. They can protect themselves.”
Way to go, momma! By the sound of it, she’s raising some awesome, independent young adults. Hats off to you, J.Lo. Watch her full interview (below):
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Share in the comments down below!
[Images via Jennifer Lopez/Instagram & Audacy/YouTube]