On October 15, Jennifer Lopez joined Howard Stern for an interview, marking a significant moment given Stern’s history of critical remarks about her. For over two decades, Stern has openly critiqued Lopez’s fashion sense, music, and personal life. Despite the history, Lopez confessed she was anxious about the interview—not due to his past comments, but for other reasons.

Howard Stern has spoken very harshly about Jennifer Lopez over the years

Over the years, Stern has been among Lopez’s most vocal detractors. According to the Daily Mail, he has taken jabs at her clothing choices, dismissed her early 2000s romance with Ben Affleck as “ridiculous,” and labeled her as a “diva.”

During her stint as a judge on American Idol, Stern accused Lopez of being “phony” and dubbed her the worst judge on the panel. He also frequently questioned her acting talent across different roles.

Lopez has remarked that criticism of her professional efforts is what she finds most painful.

Lopez has stated that criticism about her career is the most hurtful.

Jennifer Lopez admitted she was worried about talking to Howard Stern

Despite his history of insulting her, Lopez agreed to appear on Stern’s show while promoting her film Kiss of the Spider Woman. She admitted she felt nervous about the interview.

“I was always scared to come on the show,” she said at the start of their conversation.

Lopez felt hesitant to speak to Stern for a surprising reason, though. After she said her exes are “dead” to her once the relationship ends, Lopez joked that she was “going to get in trouble.”

“This is why I never wanted to come on here. I’ll get in trouble,” she said, per People. “No, but I’m one of those people, I don’t hold on, to be honest. Not dead to me — but definitely, it’s over, I’m going to move on.”

She has opened up about facing criticism over the years

Lopez is no stranger to criticism. Over the years, she has faced both praise and ire from the general public. She said this started early in her career.

“When I first started in the business, I came out and worked with Francis Ford Coppola, with Steven Soderbergh, and my record goes straight to number one,” she told Nikki Glaser for Interview Magazine. “All of this stuff was happening and then, all of a sudden, they started criticizing me and you’re like, ‘Wait, what? That’s not true. That’s not who I am.’”

Over the course of her lengthy career, she has learned to deal with even the harshest critics. Lopez said she knows who she is, and that’s what matters most to her.

“I was like, ‘I know who I am when I lay my head down at night and that’s what matters,’” she said. “And that stuck with me, and that’s always, again, that little girl inside of you who so deserves credit and comfort and joy. Life beats you down as you go, and then you have to always go back and connect to that innocent, optimistic, bright-eyed person that you were when you started out. That is something I always had, and I was able to survive those tough moments of a long career where things go up and down, where everybody loves you and then everybody’s jumping on you, and then everybody loves you. That happens if you have a long career.”