Jennifer Lopez recalls how her mom 'beat the s***' out of her during her childhood

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By Asiya Ali

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In her new Netflix documentary, Halftime, Jennifer Lopez reflects on her relationship with her mother.

The 52-year-old singer's documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last week and rolled out on the streaming service on Tuesday, June 14.

Halftime focuses on Lopez's milestone career moments including the making and promoting of the movie Hustlers, the Super Bowl Halftime Show she headlined with Shakira and her performance at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021.

The documentary also delves into the 'Jenny From The Block' singer's upbringing and tough family life, including her complicated relationship with her mother, Guadalupe "Lupe" Rodriguez.

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Jennifer Lopez with her mom Guadalupe Lopez and her sister Linda Lopez. Credit: Tsuni / USA / Alamy.

The 'Let's Get Loud' singer disclosed that growing up, she and her mother used to argue a lot: "She did what she had to do to survive, and it made her strong, but it also made her tough," Lopez said. "She beat the s*** out of us."

Rodriquez, 76, appears in the film and admits that she was hard on Lopez and her two sisters, Leslie and Lynda. The mother immigrated from Puerto Rico and raised her three daughters in the Bronx alongside her husband David, whom she divorced.

Lupe said: "I was far from the perfect mother. The one thing I can always say, everything I did, I did with their best interest at heart."

Lopez said in her film that her mother was a "super complicated" person but because of her background, she wanted to raise the singer and her two sisters as independently as possible.

The mother said: "I always had the highest expectations of them. It wasn't to be critical. It was only to show you that you could do better. And Jennifer, she gave me the hardest time, to tell you the truth. We butted heads a lot."

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The mother and daughter duo on June 20, 2013. Credit: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy.

Jlo revealed that she left her mother's home at the age of 18 after repeatedly disputing with her mom over her career choices and future.

The singer confessed that she didn't concentrate on her school work and was distracted by her love for dancing - something that caused tension between her and her mother.

"My mom was like, ‘If you’re gonna live in this house, you’re gonna get your education,'" Lopez recalled. "We got into a bad fight one night and I just left."

Years later, it seems like the mother and daughter duo are in a better place as Jlo shared a loving post for her mom on Instagram last year, writing: "It was my mom who instilled in us at a very young age that we could do anything. "

Halftime is available on Netflix now.

Featured image credit: Ron Adar / Alamy.