Monday morning, Jennifer Lopez and Lin-Manuel Miranda performed their new single on the Today Show. The single is “Love Makes the World Go Round,” and it’s a tribute to the victims of the Pulse Nightclub attack. The proceeds from the single go to the Hispanic Federation’s Proyecto Somos Orlando initiative. I didn’t know Lin-Manuel and J.Lo were that close, honestly, but they are both Puerto Rican and they both grew up in the New York area, so maybe that was enough. True story: to perform their song live on the Today Show – a song which is for charity, for the love of God – Jennifer wore a La Perla bra-top that retails for $1,458. Her terrible pants are also by La Perla.
Why are we even talking about this? Because Jennifer Lopez tweeted a photo of herself and Lin-Manuel at the Today Show. The tweet was aimed at promoting the song, I’m sure. But the hashtag she used caused some side-eyes and some Twitter rage. You see, J.Lo is one of those “all lives matter” people. This was her tweet, which she deleted very quickly when commenters went HAM on her.
At this point in time, I do think people should stop with the “all lives matter” stuff. The point of #BlackLivesMatter is that black people are tired of being treated like their lives don’t matter. It’s a rallying cry of “don’t we count too?” And “why aren’t our lives worth as much as white lives?” #BlackLivesMatter cuts to the heart of the inequities faced by the black community at every level. If you want to expand the conversation to #BrownLivesMatter, that is absolutely a conversation that needs to happen too, and I believe most Black Lives Matter activists would recognize that “brown” lives are undervalued as well, that there are structural inequalities for Hispanics, Arab-Americans, etc. BLM isn’t anti-intersectionality, it’s the start of a larger conversation. And J.Lo was wrong to go to the “All Lives Matter” trap. And she got called out for it.
Puffy ain't dedicate 34 I Need a Girl's to Jennifer Lopez so she could be out here All Lives Matter-ing
— Ol' QWERTY Bastard (@TheDiLLon1) July 12, 2016
Jennifer Lopez dropped a "All Lives Matter " tweet.
Shakira would never.
— JR Anthony (@HarlemGetsMoney) July 12, 2016
Jennifer Lopez said All Lives Matter? This can't be the same hoe that was lip syncing to Ashanti's vocals her whole career.
— I Luh God ✨ (@aVeryRichBitch) July 12, 2016
Wait, J.Lo really said #AllLivesMatter like she didn't make at least 17 attempts to be black between 1992 – 2000?
— Princeton Anglaise (@3rdAndMiles) July 12, 2016
I think J.Lo didn't realize how offensive #AllLivesMatter is to so many people.
— Black Girl Nerds (@BlackGirlNerds) July 12, 2016
Don't be concerned with screenshots that I got. We know you no longer Jenny from the Block. @JLo pic.twitter.com/CoouWzs3Gw
— Ol' QWERTY Bastard (@TheDiLLon1) July 12, 2016
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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