Jennifer Lopez Gets Emotional Receiving Standing Ovation at New Movie Premiere

Despite her personal life taking a hit with her divorce from Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez’s career is on fire. Oscar-winning Sundance Film Festival veteran Bill Condon attended the festival to celebrate the world premiere of his new movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film’s star, Jennifer Lopez was moved to tears thanks to the crowd’s rowdy standing ovation for her performance. In his review, The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney calls it one of Lopez’s best roles of her decades-long career.

Spider Woman first debuted as a 1976 novel by Argentinean author Manuel Puig. A movie adaptation came in 1985, followed by a Tony-winning 1993 Broadway musical. The story focuses on two cellmates, Valentíno (Diego Luna), a political prisoner with hopes of overthrowing the dictatorship, and Molina (Tonatiuh), a queer window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form a bond when, to pass the time, Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite star, Ingrid Luna (Lopez), the report notes.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” Lopez said during the panel. “The truth is, when you talk about the importance of musicals, the reason that I even wanted to be in this business was because my mom would sit me in front of the TV when West Side Story would come on once a year, on Thanksgiving. I was just mesmerized. And I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do. That’s what I want to do.’ That was always my goal, and this is the first time that I actually got to do it.”

After two years of marriage and months of speculation about their separation, Lopez officially filed for divorce in August 2024. Her and Affleck reportedly struggled due to lifestyle differences with his desire for life outside of the spotlight.