Jennifer Lopez Took Her 'Supportive' Ex-fiancé Alex Rodriguez to Strip Clubs For 'Research'

Jennifer Lopez starred in the 2019 box office hit Hustlers, which was inspired by a true incident. The film received high praise from critics and made $160 million at the box office worldwide. To research her character Ramona, Lopez recalled visiting strip clubs while appearing on Apple's Beats 1 station. She also disclosed that her ex-fiance, Alex Rodriguez, was more than "excited" to go with her because he boasted about being an expert on the subject. "Alex was very excited about me doing a stripper movie," she admitted. "He helped me do research by going to a strip club in NYC with me and we watched the show and afterward I chatted to some of the girls."  

The Let's Get Loud songstress continued, "Of course, he knew that world (the stripper world) very well from when he was a young athlete, going to the clubs and stuff. He helped me a lot with the preparation for this movie and was very supportive." According to the Daily Mail, the role played by Lopez was heavily inspired by the American stripper Samantha Barbash, who was well-known for being the boss of a group of exotic dancers who drugged and conned wealthy Wall Street clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Lopez also revealed that she took pole dancing classes four months before the start of production to help her prepare for her part. Hola Magazine reported that Rodriguez was ecstatic about the concept, of course, and he went with her to the courses to record quick snippets. The On the Floor singer, who is a sworn non-smoker confessed that it was challenging to prepare for the role. “Sometimes I smoked one of the cigarettes and stayed in the mindset of Ramona,” she said, “Of all the props that the prop master bought me there was a blinged-out lighter that I would hold every day.”

As per The Wrap, for her part in Hustlers, Lopez was nominated for a Golden Globe, and Rodriguez disclosed that she took the role so seriously that she had a stripper pole installed in the bedroom. “One great benefit was having a pole in our master bedroom for six months,” the former New York Yankees player said. Rodriguez also celebrated the success of Lopez's film with a stripper-themed cake. "Oh, my God, look at this!" the All I Have singer said while showing off the decadent cake on her Instagram stories back then: "Baby, congratulations on Hustlers. So proud of you! Love hustling through life with you. Love, Macho," a note from Rodriguez read.  

Glamour reported that the personalized piece was adorned with edible pole dancers, a couple of miniature $100 notes, and the words "Congratulations on your movie!" A tray of cake pops and little cupcakes was also there as a sign of a true celebration.