Are Shakira And Jennifer Lopez Friends In Real Life?

Jennifer Lopez and Shakira are both powerhouse Latina singers who give one hell of a live show. So, when they both signed on to perform at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show together, fans were doubly excited. Lopez told Us Weekly that she believes Pepsi, the show's sponsor, "really wanted to make a statement with" choosing two high-profile Latinas to perform. She's "happy to be a part of this new movement of inclusivity and diversity and embracing women," she added.

Both stars occupy a similar musical niche, and now they're sharing a stage as well. It'd be understandable if there were a bit of competition between them, especially since Lopez is known to be difficult to work with. A huge, important collaboration like the Super Bowl could definitely lead them to some clashes! Many fans are now wondering if the two stars are friends or foes.

Here's the history of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira's relationship and the current status of their friendship — or lack thereof.

Jennifer Lopez and Shakira confirmed that they'll be co-headlining the Super Bowl halftime show back in September 2019. As Latina singers, the two have plenty in common, but they also have a lot of differences. Shakira was born and raised in Colombia and got her start in the music industry by singing Latin music. Jennifer Lopez, on the other hand, is a Puerto Rican American from the Bronx. Before singing, she rose to fame as a dancer and actress.

Both stars immediately gushed on social media about the upcoming show, with Lopez telling Us Weekly that she was "super excited and so is Shakira." 

"We are super excited. We want to make a beautiful, impactful, enjoyable, fun show for everybody," Lopez told People in December. "We want to bring everybody together. That's the point. We as artists have that rare gift to be able to do that, and that's what I think our main goal is."

There's little evidence that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira are friends, per se. There are no reports of the pair hanging out together, and they've never collaborated professionally in the past. However, Lopez has had nothing but positive things to say about her co-headliner.

"There's nobody like her so I know that the two of us together are going to bring that special brand of what we do and there will be people who haven't even seen us perform who get to see something special that night," she told People in December.

As for Shakira, she sang Lopez's praises as well. She explained that they each bring something unique to the table, thanks to their different roots.

"I feel that's gonna be great because she also represents a really important part of the Latino community who lives in the U.S. — and in a way, I feel that I'm representing another part of the Latin world, which is all those people around the world who barely speak English and a huge portion of the demographic that also arrived in the U.S. with the American dream," Shakira said.

The Super Bowl LIV halftime show will be the first time that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira have performed at the same show. Whether or not they'll actually share the stage at some point is still up in the air, as things have reportedly gotten dicey between the two stars.

In December, Lopez stated that she and Shakira did plan to perform together. "I've never even done a song with Shakira," Lopez told Entertainment Weekly. "We're not rehearsing together, she's doing her show, I'm doing my show, but we're going to do something together, for sure."

However, recent reports indicate that those plans may have changed. Tensions have reportedly arisen between the two stars, leaving any chances of a friendship forming between the two dubious, at best.

"There were initial plans for them to perform a significant portion of the halftime show together — but that's out the window," a source told celebrity columnist Love B. Scott. "As of now, they're just planning to appear briefly together at the end of the set. There isn't any real feud, but there's definitely a chill in the air between the two stars."

It's clear that Jennifer Lopez and Shakia admire each other's work. But according to recent reports, the two superstars may have started butting heads as their show at the Super Bowl got closer and closer.

"As usual with these Super Bowl performances, the performers are having trouble fitting their set into the time constraints," a source explained to Love B. Scott. "Right now, the halftime show in the works is running way longer than the allotted time. The NFL, along with the powers-that-be are trying to solve the issue."

The source added that Lopez had planned to headline the show alone, only to have Shakira added to the line-up later. With the added time constraints, that's led to an increase in tension.

"They're telling everyone that limiting how much time Jennifer and Shakira spend on stage together has a lot to do with their different styles of music, but others close to production say that it has more to do with the fact that Jennifer was forced into sharing the performance with Shakira in the first place," the source explained.

Judging by these reports, the Super Bowl may have actually driven Lopez and Shakira further apart rather than fostered a friendship between them. We'll have to wait and see what compromise the two singers came up with for the show! Just don't count on seeing any collaborations on upcoming albums between these two anytime soon.