From Netflix documentaries to rekindled romances with past loves, Jennifer Lopez has been through many journeys in life. Now, she’s standing by her child, Emme, and their journey with their gender-neutral identity.
On June 16, Lopez performed a private show at the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation’s Blue Diamond Gala at the Dodger’s Stadium and brought out her 14-year-old child as a special guest to duet with her. Singing Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years”, when Lopez brought Emme onto the stage to join her in the song, she introduced Emme with they/them pronouns.
“The last time we performed together was in a big stadium like this,” Lopez said to the audience in a video, posted to TikTok. The “last time” that she was referring to was when Emme joined her on stage at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime show in Miami, Florida.
“I ask them to sing with me all the time and they won’t. So, this is a very special occasion. They are very, very busy. Booked… and pricey.” Lopez said. “They cost me when they come out. But they’re worth every single penny because they’re my favourite duet partner of all time.”
Then, Emme walked out onto the stage to sing the 2011 hit song, while holding a bedazzled, rainbow microphone in honour of Pride Month.
Once mother and child wrapped up their sweet duet, the pair then went onto sing Lopez’s iconic anthem, “Let’s Get Loud”, the very song that they sang at the 2020 Super Bowl show. Then, the pair went onto treat the audience with a snippet of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA”, before Lopez returned solo to finish her 2009 hit song.
Two years prior, Lopez and Emme performed side-by-side at the unforgettable 2020 half time show, alongside Shakira. Kicking off Lopez’s portion of the performance, Emme entered the stage by singing while sitting in a cage, in protest of then-president Donald Trump’s inhumane immigration policies. However, it turns out that the song was close to being taken out of the show entirely.
Sharing the news in her new Netflix documentary, aptly titled Halftime, Lopez was told that the NFL executives didn’t want Emme in a cage and wanted to pull the song, with manager Benny Medina explaining that the orders came from “the highest authority”. But Lopez refused to see to their demands.
“I don’t care what you have to do, we’re not changing the show,” she told Medina. Thankfully, because Lopez stood her ground, the show went ahead as they’d planned, and became the most-streamed Super Bowl Halftime Show of all time.
Here’s hoping that we get to see more of Emme’s talents in the future.
