Jennifer Lopez is in New York kicking off the press blitz for her movie Marry Me, which comes out next week. This morning she was on The TODAY Show, interviewed by Hoda Kotb, who she’s friends with, and Savannah Guthrie; it’s a showcase for just how experienced she is as a celebrity and Being A Celebrity is a professional skill, and JLo is great at Being A Celebrity. 

 

Of course she’s there to talk about the movie. But for Hoda and Savannah, they’re hoping to get some dish on Ben Affleck. Which JLo also knows. And expects. Hoda and Savannah have a gift to work with here though because Marry Me is about a heartbroken megastar who unexpectedly finds love again. And, well, as JLo said, it’s “meta”. So Hoda and Savannah have an in, it’s not a stretch to go there and see if she’ll talk about Ben. 

She does…and doesn’t. JLo acknowledges that, yes, Bennifer is back – but when pressed for more details, she straight up just says to Hoda and Savannah that she’ll tell them everything they want to know backstage but right now, all she wants to say is that she and Ben have learned from their previous experience and then deftly transitions from that thought about learning and growing back to Marry Me and what the movie is about. Smooth AF. 

You know what wasn’t so smooth, though, but still pro in that it gives us an example of how fixes happen on live television? 

 

JLo is wearing her hair in one of her trademark styles, half-back pulled tight. You’ll note at the beginning of the interview that a piece has come loose on her left side above her ear. It’s pretty visible – and you can see her starting to fuss with it, likely because someone off-camera, in her eyeline, her hairstylist or an assistant is alerting her to it. But it’s hard for her to fix on her own, while staying engaged in the conversation. They end up keeping the camera on Hoda and Savannah a little longer and JLo takes the opportunity to smooth it down or her stylist jumped in real quick to make the adjustment because after that, that piece of hair is no longer a problem for the rest of the interview. Since I work in live TV it’s possible that I’m more interested in this kind of inside baseball than others might be these are the behind-the-scenes moments and details that fill out our understanding of fame and image management. JLo’s interview on The TODAY Show is below.