Jennifer Lopez Defends Her Alcohol Line, Drinking Habits

Jennifer Lopez is openly defending her alcohol line and drinking habits, saying that she enjoys the “occasional cocktail.” The singer and actress had come under fire in the past few months for her Delola alcohol brand, after some critics pointed out that she previously stated she didn’t drink alcohol. Now, in a new Instagram video, Lopez clarified her position while on the way to pick up some adult beverages.

“I know that a lot of people have been talking about like, ‘Oh she doesn’t even drink. What’s she doing with a cocktail line?’ And to tell you the truth, that was true for a long time. I didn’t drink,” she said. “A few years back, as you will see from several photos of me out over the past 10 maybe 15 years, I have been having the occasional cocktail. I do enjoy the occasional cocktail.” Offering some insight into her approach to drinking alcohol, Lopez explained, “I do drink responsibly. I don’t drink to get s—faced. I drink to be social and have a good time and just kind of relax and let loose a bit, but always responsibly.”

Lopez had initially explained that the reason for her outing was due to a get-together 4th of July get-together. “I got up early to go sneak out and get some Delola. We have a few people coming over for the holiday weekend, and I realized that we don’t have any,” she said. “I thought we would, but we don’t. So I’m going to go to the store and get some.” Lopez later added, “I’m so excited. I love holiday weekends. I love spending time with family and friends and having a little cocktail.”

Back in April, the Shotgun Wedding actress spoke with PEOPLE about her Delola brand,  “I’m not a huge alcohol whatever-alcohol drinker, so it needed to be something that was really pleasant tasting,” she said at the time. “I loved the idea of creating something a little more healthy, a little bit more to my taste with kind of healthier ingredients and being gluten-free.” Lopez also explained that Delola means “from Lola” in Spanish, so “the way we came up with the name for Delola was really about being the carefree, fun side of who I am.”

Lopez also pointed out that the Delola bottles feature a logo design inspired by the Bronx crest — which is a reference to her hometown in New York City — as well as lions, inspired by her and husband Ben Affleck’s zodiac signs. “I’m a Leo. On the actual bottle, I put two lions – Ben and I are both Leos – like a male and a female lion,” she said. “It’s very personalized, really authentic to me and what I love.”