Ayo Edebiri Cried Apologizing to Jennifer Lopez for Her Comments

Ayo Edebiri and Jennifer Lopez had quite an awkward first meeting in the run-up to appearing together on Saturday Night Live earlier this month.

As a young comedian starting out in the entertainment industry, Edebiri made some fiery comments about J.Lo on a podcast a few years ago, which resurfaced ahead of the SNL gig. And apparently, she broke down while apologizing to the superstar.

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In an interview with Variety published today, the “Jenny From the Block” singer said that Edebiri—who took home an Emmy and a Golden Globe in January for her performance as Syd on Hulu’s The Bear—offered a sincere apology before the sketch comedy show aired. “She was mortified and very sweet,” Lopez said. “She came to my dressing room and apologized with tears in her eyes, saying how terrible it was that she had said those things. She felt really badly and loved my performance because we had just done my soundcheck and she actually got to hear me perform. She was just like, ‘I’m so fucking sorry, it was so awful of me.’”

So no hard feelings there. J.Lo even said she wasn’t too bothered by the comments in the first place: “It’s funny. I’ve heard similar things said about me throughout my career, so it really didn’t affect me.”

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Edbiri's comments about Lopez, which she made on the Scam Goddess podcast in 2020, resurfaced a few weeks ago, after it was announced she would host SNL on February 3, the same night Lopez appeared as the musical guest.

In the clip, recorded ahead of J.Lo’s Super Bowl LIV halftime show performance with Shakira in February 2020, Edebiri told host Laci Mosley she believed Lopez’s music career was “one long scam.”

“Today I was actually thinking about one of my favorite scams of all time, because J.Lo is performing at the Super Bowl halftime show,” she said. “Her whole career is one long scam.”

Edebiri went on to add, “Well, that’s the thing. She thinks she’s [singing] on multiple tracks, but it’s not her. I think she thinks that she’s still good even though, like, she’s not singing for most of these songs.”

On her SNL episode, the Bottoms star also addressed the situation in a sketch, playing a contestant on a game show called Why’d You Say It? The show’s host questions Edebiri and the other contestants about rude or thoughtless comments they’ve posted on Instagram.

“It’s wrong to leave mean comments or post comments just for clout, or run your mouth on a podcast because you don’t consider the impact because you're 24 and stupid,” Edebiri said, to cheers from the crowd.

Lopez, meanwhile, simply took the stage that night to perform her new singles “This Is Me … Now” and “Can’t Get Enough.” She did not publicly address Edebiri’s comments until the Variety interview.

Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets. 

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