Jennifer Lopez’s fans, eager to get her autograph, were reportedly disappointed last weekend when she reportedly abruptly ended her autograph after an audience member asked her about Sean “Diddy” Combs, her longtime ex-boyfriend, and the sex trafficking accusations against him.
The American newspaper Mirror reported that Lopez was attending a screening and Q&A for her new film “Unstoppable” at the 2024 AFI Festival in Los Angeles. Released on Saturday, the college sports drama is produced by Ben Affleck, Lopez’s estranged husband, and his production company with Matt Damon.
But during a signing for “Unstoppable,” Lopez faced an uncomfortable question about her famous ex, the Mirror reported. While the singer and actor was trying to greet fans, someone in the audience asked: “J. Lou, do you have any comments about me? Didi and the allegations?
The Mirror reported that Lopez immediately stopped signing. She and her team started to move away from the crowd. The Mirror said people in the crowd called out to her, saying: “Don’t leave,” but she headed out the door “out of sight.”
This uncomfortable moment comes as Lopez prepares to divorce Affleck. Meanwhile, she remains tight-lipped about the disturbing sexual assault allegations against Combs, whom she dated from 1999 to 2001. The music mogul and Bad Boy Records founder has been in federal custody since September and faces trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy . Fees.
377894 22: (File Photo) Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs arrive at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 2000 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2001, Combs’ spokesperson announced that Lopez and Combs were no longer a couple. Months of speculation about the demise of the stars’ relationship has been made public. (Photo by George De Sota/Newsmakers)
Combs has also been the subject of more than 20 lawsuits from women and men, who claim he and his alleged accomplices sexually assaulted them when they attended his notorious parties.
Lopez has faced scrutiny over her relationship with Combs since his arrest on September 16. The allegations in the lawsuits cover incidents that began in the 1990s and continued into 2022, some of which allegedly occurred during the period when Lopez and Combs were a celebrity couple.
Perhaps most disturbing for Lopez are the allegations in the federal lawsuit filed last week. A 37-year-old woman claims that when she was a 13-year-old girl, she was sexually assaulted by Combs — with the help of an unnamed celebrity man and woman — at a party hosted by the Mongols after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. While the lawsuit did not identify Combs’ alleged celebrity accomplices, Lopez was Combs’ sidekick at the 2000 VMAs, winning the award that September night for Best Dance Video.
Recently discovered photos were published in the Daily Mail this week, allegedly showing Lopez and Combs attending a star-studded party for the 2000 VMAs. The awards ceremony was held on September 7, 2000 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, while the after-party was held at The now defunct Lotus Nightclub.
The Daily Mail said the photos show Lopez and Combs in a heated confrontation, and Lopez appears to be yelling at the rapper. One of the guests at the party told the Daily Mail that the dispute ended with Combs leaving the nightclub with his entourage and a group of women.
The alleged assault on the 13-year-old girl appears to have occurred later that night at a home. The Daily Mail said the timing of the assault adds a “troubling layer” to the evening’s events and raises questions about the dynamics of the relationship between Lopez and Combs, during a time now overshadowed by serious allegations.
In 1999, Lopez became involved in another criminal controversy involving Combs. They were arrested in December of that year while fleeing a Manhattan nightclub after a shooting that left three people injured. Combs was tried in 2001 for the shooting, and Lopez testified, but Combs was acquitted by the jury.
Over the years, Lopez hasn’t spoken much about her relationship with Combs, though she described it as “tempestuous” and “emotionally exhausting” toward the end. She also said that they broke up “several times,” would get back together, and then break up again.
Lopez’s first husband, Ojani Noah, whom the megastar met and married early in her career, recently blamed Combs for the breakup of their marriage in 1998 after 11 months.
In an interview with Univision, Noah, a Cuban immigrant who met Lopez while working as a waiter in Miami, said: “Part of this divorce was Diddy’s fault.”
“When Sony came and paid her the millions she got, there was Puffy (Combs), who was going to be one of the producers of several songs on her first album, On The 6,” Noah said in Spanish, according to Page Six. “This is where the deception, lies and separation began.”