When Jennifer Lopez Hated Her ‘South Park’ Portrayal So Much She Fired People for Quoting It

Celebrity parodies from South Park are well-known for their entertainment value, although occasionally the stars find the humor offensive. Among the celebrities who detested their on-screen meme personas was Jennifer Lopez. As per Looper, in Episode 5 of Season 7 titled Fat Butt and Pancake Head  which aired in 2003, Lopez is portrayed as a haughty, angry diva whose identity is taken by Cartman's hand puppet, who is dressed as a younger, more attractive version of the pop diva. In an attempt to stop the hand puppet from taking over her profession and lover Ben Affleck, Lopez resorts to more extreme measures, which lands her in jail and gets her a new job at La Taco. Lopez became so enraged by the spoof song Taco-Flavored Kisses that she fired staff members for bringing up the mortifying episode. 

The On the Floor songstress' feud with the creators of the spoof show began much before the release of the particular episode. In 2000, Matt Stone and Trey Park donned costumes to represent Gwyneth Paltrow and Lopez at the 72nd Academy Awards. Stone wore a replica of the green Versace dress with a low neckline that Lopez had flaunted at the 42nd Grammy Awards event. Thus earning her fury. 

The creators disclosed in their audio commentary on the episode that Lopez used to become angry at the mere mention of the show. Later, in an interview with The Project, Parker recalled of an incident where Lopez shoved past the two of them at a party. As per Unilad, the Let's Get Loud songstress addressed the issue on her documentary Halftime in 2022. The film focused on the media's obsession with her physique and the alleged "diva behavior" than her acting, music, or parenting in the 2000s. The documentary emphasized on the play of racism by bringing up Lopez's role in South Park. 

“Their appetite to cover my personal life overshadowed everything that was happening in my career,” Lopez said. “I just had a very low self-esteem. I really believed a lot of what they said, which is that I wasn’t very good." Affleck, who was then engaged to her, also appeared in the film, stating: "I said to her once, 'Doesn't this bother you?" “And she said, 'I'm Latina, I'm a woman. I expected this.'"

Lopez talked about how she got through those trying moments, “I had to really figure out who I was and believe in that and not believe anything else.” Elaborating further in an interview with Rolling Stone, the Love Don't Cost a Thing songstress revealed that after having kids, she has "become much more spiritual." She added that throughout the day, she frequently offered affirmations such as "I am whole" and "I love the universe, the universe loves me" and prayed. She said: “I try to always live from a place of gratitude. But today, especially, if you ask me what my first thought was, it was, ‘Thank you. Thank you, God, for this day. Thank you for my life, what it is.’”