Rosie Perez is letting the world in on the story behind her longstanding beef with Jennifer Lopez. Her new memoir, Handbook for an Unpredictable Life, is due February 25 and the actress and former choreographer for “In Living Color”‘s Fly Girls says that their friction began during their time together on that show.
In an excerpt published by the NY Post, Perez explains that she actually had to fight for J.Lo to be hired because the show’s creator, Keenan Ivory Wayans, found Lopez to be “chubby and corny.” In order to convince Wayans, Lopez was made to lose 20 pounds and cut her hair.
Apparently, once hired, J.Lo’s diva antics emerged. “All of the girls were coming into my office complaining how she was manipulating wardrobe, makeup, and me, all to her advantage,” Perez writes. Lopez allegedly took it a step further and attacked Perez one day “like some ghetto biatch, screaming and pounding her chest,” she writes.
“You pick on me, me and only me, every f–king day! Every f–king day! I work my ass off, deliver and you keep pushing me aside, treating me like sh-t! I know I’m good! I’m better than any of these girls, and you know it,” Lopez roared.
After Lopez left the show, Perez thought everything was fine, but she made negative remarks about it in a television interview once she became famous.
“I was blindsided,” writes Perez. “I’d thought we were cool. I called her up. She wouldn’t pick up. Frustrated, I left her an irate message on her answering machine. Instead of calling me back and hashing it out like friends do, she went on a major talk show and reiterated my lashing,” Perez writes.
Months later, the two bumped into each other at a club. “Jennifer came over to me, smiling, saying hello as if nothing had happened. I should’ve let it go, played it off, too. Instead, I killed her with my biting tongue.”
Yikes! It seems as if this is one feud that won’t end in Kumbayas anytime soon. I have a feeling that this public revelation will only fan the fumes. However, it seems Perez recognizes that this isn’t what it should be: “We ladies of color all know how hard it is for us in the entertainment business. This kind of sh-t hurts us all and those that follow in our footsteps.”