In July 2024, a post on X went viral , claiming that singer and actress Jennifer Lopez once worked as a "backing," or backup, dancer for singer Janet Jackson in the early 1990s. This post, which received 2.5 million views as of this writing, featured a still image from Jackson's music .video clip for her 1993 single "That's The Way Love Goes," taken from her eponymous album, "Janet." The caption read:
jennifer lopez was janet jackson's back up dancer in the early 90s, she was gonna go on tour with her until she decided to quit to do her own thing
(popculture/X)
The claim is true. Lopez did work as a backup dancer for Jackson in the early '90s and appeared in the "That's the Way Love Goes" video. In the photo attached to the X post, Lopez is clearly visible, leaning on the back of the couch on which Jackson is reclining. You can watch the full version of the video clip here:
Released in April 1993, the video featured Lopez playing the role of one of Jackson's friends who dances along to the song as it plays on the stereo. Upon its release, "That's the Way Love Goes" became a massive hit, reaching No. 1 in multiple countries .
Lopez is credited as a "Dancer" on the official IMDb page for the video. The IMDb synopsis provides further context:
The music video was directed by René Elizondo, Jr. in March 1993. Set in a loft, Jackson is depicted amongst friends and is persuaded to play her new single. Jackson plays the song, briefly interrupted by a dancer who pauses it to express her approval. The song resumes while Jackson and company begin to dance, ending with Jackson talking and joking amongst her dancers. The video was choreographed by Tina Landon. To build anticipation, a promotional advertisement was aired on music channels for several weeks prior to the video's premiere, depicting Jackson narrating and introducing her dancers from behind a camera lens. The video is also infamous for introducing a then-unknown Jennifer Lopez, who appeared as a backing dancer and had a spoken line in the video's opening dialogue.
Indeed, Elizondo Jr., a dancer, songwriter and music video director from Mexico, directed several Jackson video videos , including "That's the Way Love Goes." He was also Jackson's second husband at the time, with the two marrying in 1991 and divorcing two years later.
Snopes unearthed the promotional advertisement for the single referenced on IMDb, which had been shared to X in April 2023. In the brief video, Jackson narrates off-screen, introducing Lopez as one of her "latest additions to the kids":
Lopez's involvement with Jackson was reportedly intended to extend beyond the video clip. According to a 2001 feature article in R&B and hip-hop outlet Vibe magazine , Jackson not only revealed herself to be a fan of Lopez's music, but she also admitted the "Jenny From the Block" singer was supposed to be one of the backing dancers on the Janet World Tour , which began in November 1993, several months after the video clip was released. However, Lopez pulled out to focus on her own career. Jackson recalled in the Vibe interview:
Do you have a favorite Jennifer Lopez song?
Yeah, I do. "Secretly" on her new album. I love the way she's singing. And I like what she's saying.
Do you remember when she was one of your dancers?
Yes. She was supposed to do the whole janet tour, but she only did the "That's the Way Love Goes" video. Then she called and said she wanted out, because she wanted to do her own thing.
She probably wanted it to be her video.
Well, she's doing it now. And she's doing it very well.
Before appearing in Jackson's video, Lopez was a backing dancer, or "Fly Girl" as they were known, on the Fox television sketch comedy show " In Living Color ." The series, which ran from 1990 to 1994, lampooned Jackson in several sketches, including satirizing her video clips and a movie appearance . However, Lopez, who appeared on "In Living Color" from 1991 to 1993, did not participate in any of these Jackson-centric sketches.
- YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b_KfAGiglc. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. --- . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov2yn4iEbVc. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. --- . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naSAQ-xuTvo. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. --- . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1950ni0VmdA. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. --- . https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ESOLuVTNGtg. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. Adams, Kahmeela. "Jennifer Lopez Worked As A Backup Dancer For A Music Legend Before Making It Big." The List , 1 July 2022, https://www.thelist.com/914401/jennifer-lopez-worked-as-a-backup-dancer-for-a-music-legend-before-making-it-big/. Allen, Matthew. "Top 10 'In Living Color' Music Parodies." TheGrio , 14 July 2023, https://thegrio.com/2023/07/14/top-10-in-living-color-music-parodies/. "Episode 104." The In Living Color Guide , https://inlivingcolor.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_104. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. In Living Color . Ivory Way Productions, 20th Century Fox Television, 1990. "'In Living Color' Cast: Where Are They Now?" EW.Com , https://ew.com/tv/in-living-color-cast-where-are-they-now/. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. Janet Jackson: That's the Way Love Goes . "Janet World Tour." Wikipedia , 4 June 2024. Wikipedia , https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Janet_World_Tour&oldid=1227246571. Jennifer Lopez Dances with New Kids on the Block in 1991 Video Clip – New York Daily News . 17 Feb. 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20230217220445/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/jennifer-lopez-dances-new-kids-block-1991-video-clip-article-1.141080. "Lost Janet Jackson Interview: 2001 - Craig Seymour." iHeart , https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-craig-seymour-30942838/episode/lost-janet-jackson-interview-2001-31325224/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2024. @notgwendalupe. "Jennifer Lopez Was Janet Jackson's Back up Dancer in the Early 90s, She Was Gonna Go on Tour with Her until She Decided to Quit to Do Her Own Thing." X , 4 July 2024, https://x.com/notgwendalupe/status/1808936437221634397. "René Elizondo | Director, Composer, Producer." IMDb , https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0253790/. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. Seymour, Craig. "Janet Jackson, Living Single (Interview)." R&Being , 1 Mar. 2001, https://randbeing.com/2001/03/01/janet-jackson-living-single-feature/. Singh, Olivia. "7 Things You Probably Didn't Know about Jennifer Lopez." Business Insider , https://www.businessinsider.com/jennifer-lopez-facts-2018-5. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. Soulet, Sylvie. "In Living Color: 5 Skits That Haven't Aged Well (& 5 That Are Still Relevant Today)." ScreenRant , 26 Jan. 2020, https://screenrant.com/in-living-color-skits-not-aged-well-relevant-today/. "That's the Way Love Goes." Janet Jackson Wiki , https://janetjackson.fandom.com/wiki/That%27s_the_Way_Love_Goes. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. "Top 10 'In Living Color' Music Parodies." Yahoo News , 14 July 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/news/top-10-living-color-music-174500287.html. Trust, Gary. "This Week in Billboard Chart History: In 1993, Janet Jackson's 'Goes' Went to No. 1 on the Hot 100." Billboard , 14 May 2018, https://www.billboard.com/pro/janet-jackson-thats-the-way-love-goes-this-week-in-billboard-chart-history-1993/. Vibe - Google Books . 29 Mar. 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/20220329005958/https://books.google.com/books?id=gCYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA100&dq=This+Is+Me...+Then+jennifer+lopez+million+copies&hl=en&sa=X&ei=s03xT_70N8z3rAG1hqG1Cg#v=onepage&q=This%20Is%20Me...%20Then%20jennifer%20lopez%20million%20copies&f=false. WOD . https://www.worldofdance.com/post/4-amazing-moments-from-jennifer-lopezs-early-career. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024. Wong, Vinney. "The Real Reason Jennifer Lopez Didn't Want To Tour With Janet Jackson." Nicki Swift , 20 July 2021, https://www.nickiswift.com/466246/the-real-reason-jennifer-lopez-didnt-want-to-tour-with-janet-jackson/.
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