Jennifer Lopez Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Jennifer Lopez is standing her ground — and back her product — after receiving backlash for launching her alcohol brand, Delola, following years of not drinking.
“I love holiday weekends. I love spending time with family and friends and having a little cocktail,” Lopez, 53, said via an Instagram video while driving to the liquor store on Monday, July 3. “I know that a lot of people have been talking about, ‘She doesn’t even drink. What’s she doing with a cocktail line?’ To tell you the truth, that was true for a long time. I didn’t drink.”
The Shotgun Wedding actress explained that “over the past 10, maybe 15 years, I have been having the occasional cocktail.” She further revealed that although she does “enjoy” a drink here and there, she tries to avoid getting drunk.
“I do drink responsibly. I don’t drink to get s—tfaced. I drink to be social and have a nice time,” Lopez told her followers while on a mission to buy Delola for her Independence Day celebration. “And kind of relax and let loose a little bit. But always responsibly.”
The “Jenny From the Block” singer noted that she had White Russians phase and sipped on rosé, but she “never found anything that [she] really loved.” That lack of enthusiasm over available cocktails led to the birth of her own ready-to-drink cocktails.
“Like anything else in my life, I created it myself. Delola is really about a healthier way [to drink]. Something that fit my lifestyle,” she said in the clip, pointing out that her three spritzer choices are all low in calories and made with natural botanicals.
Many of Lopez’s fans appreciated her down-to-earth approach to selling her product, with one writing in the comments section, “Now this is the kind of promo I love to see!! I absolutely adore your humor, always puts a smile on my face 🥰 (seriously smiling like a fool over here).”
Not all of Lopez’s followers, however, enjoyed her random trip to the market and self-promotion post. “So awkward when she talks about drinking responsibly and not getting s—t faced knowing her husband suffers from alcoholism for years. 🤔,” a second user replied, referring to Ben Affleck’s ups and downs with alcoholism.
Affleck — who wed Lopez in July 2022 after reconnecting one year prior — has been vocal about his struggles with addiction over the years. Following multiple stints in rehab, he revealed to The Hollywood Reporter in March that he’s become “out of no desire of my own — one of the poster boys for actor alcoholism and recovery and the whole thing.”
The Oscar winner, 50, revealed: “And the best part about that is that sometimes people call me up and they’re like, ‘Hey, can you help me out?’ And it makes me feel so good to do that.” (Ahead of his marriage with Lopez, Affleck was married to Jennifer Garner for 10 years before splitting in 2015 and finalizing their divorce three years later. The exes share three children: Violet, 17, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11.)
Lopez, for her part, previously told InStyle in 2003 that she decided not to drink for years because she thought alcohol “ruins your skin.” At the time, she revealed that during special occasions she would indulge.
“During celebratory toasts, everybody’s like, ‘You can’t toast with water!’” Lopez, who shares twins Max and Emme, 15, with ex-husband Marc Anthony, told the outlet. “So I’ll toast with alcohol and just take a sip.”
Despite her past aversion toward spirits, Lopez launched Delola in April. “I have been grinding non-stop for decades, and more and more, I realize the importance of enjoying life,” Lopez said via an Instagram video at the time announcing her latest business venture. “I just wanted to create something better, better tasting, better ingredients, something I want to drink with my friends and family. And that is Delola.”
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