Jennifer Lopez is dedicating her Super Bowl LIV performance with Shakira to all the strong women out there! After lighting up the halftime stage with an energetic performance during Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, Lopez celebrated the first halftime performance headlined by Latin women with a heartwarming speech during a lavish yacht party.
“I was happy to stand up there with Shakira โ two Latin women, two women, two working moms who did one of the best Super Bowls of all time,” she began, half-joking of her description of the show, “Whether they said it or not, that’s how it felt to me.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
She continued to gush about the meaning behind her performance, which featured a tribute to her Puerto Rican heritage and a guest appearance from 11-year-old daughter Emme, whom Lopez shares with ex Marc Anthony,
“I am grateful to all of you. I know how special it is to go out there and hold up and American flag and hold up a Puerto Rican flag and have my daughter sing with me,” she said passionately, “and to represent women and single moms and working moms and say, ‘This is what you can do. You can do anything you want to do.’”
“That’s what I want to teach my daughters, and that’s what I want them to see, and that’s who I want them to become โ strong, independent women who speak up for themselves,” the singer added. “The message tonight was you can use your voice. Get loud. Speak up. Stand up for yourself. Just have the strength โ sometimes women lack the strength to really be the best for themselves โ and that what I wanted to put out there tonight.”
Lopez also made sure to thank the crew that made the performance possible in an excited Instagram post Sunday night. “Thank you to my incredible team for the most epic halftime I could have ever imagined,” she wrote, tagging the names of her crew. “I love you guys so much!”
Shakira also shared a message to her fans after the show, which happens to have fallen on the day of her 43rd birthday. “The best birthday gift has been the support of all my fans and the most amazing and hardworking team an artist could wish for,” she wrote on Instagram Sunday. “We Latinos climbed Kilimanjaro and made history tonight and we couldn’t have done it without all of you!”
Photo credit: Al Bello/Getty Images