Netflix's Halftime: Why did Jennifer Lopez's manager say it was an "insult" to have Shakira co-perform at 2020 Super Bowl?

Shockingly, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira's historic representational 2020 Super Bowl halftime performance resulted from a debatable NFL decision and controversial discussions.

Netflix's Halftime, set to debut on the platform this June 14, will showcase the behind-the-scenes life of Latina global star Jennifer Lopez and her journey as a celebrated fashion icon, legendary actress, and an awe-inspiring singer.

However, J.Lo stans did not expect to see their favorite Colombian star vent about her 2020 Super Bowl halftime show, a performance that she shared with Shakira.

While the exemplary performance will go down in history for its Latina representation, the documentary revealed clips of Jennifer Lopez and her team initially unsupportive of the idea of the two performing together.

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What did Jennifer Lopez and her manager say about the 2020 Super Bowl performance?

The documentary shows the 52-year-old Hustlers actress planning for the Super Bowl halftime performance with her music director Kim Burse in a clip from her new Netflix documentary, which recently had its global launch on Wednesday, June 8, at the Tribeca Festival in New York City. In a stressful conversation with Burse concerning the limited 6-minute long performance slot, Lopez says,

"We have six f***ing minutes. We have 30 seconds of a song, and if we take a minute, that's it, we've got five left. But, there's got to be certain songs that we sing, though. We have to have our singing moments."

She added,

"It's not going to be a dance f***ing revue. We have to sing our message. This is the worst idea in the world to have two people do the Super Bowl. It was the worst idea in the world."

Although Jennifer Lopez did not directly address the question of why she was made to share the stage with Shakira, Benny Medina, who has been Lopez's long-time manager, did not shy from expressing his displeasure with the arrangement.

Voicing his discontent with the NFL's idea of having two worldwide icons share a prestigious performance slot, calling it an "insult" in an interview for the documentary, Medina said,

"Typically, you have one headliner at a Super Bowl. That headliner constructs a show, and, should they choose to have other guests, that's their choice. It was an insult to say you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done."

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Discussions between Shakira and Jennifer Lopez ahead of their historic performance

During the initial part of the upcoming documentary, the two Latina stars are seen having a conversation over Zoom about the performance and the time each would take throughout the slot, attempting to make the most out of the less-than-ideal situation. While speaking to J. Lo, the Waka Waka singer said,

"I know that the Super Bowl people want us to be weaved throughout the show. I haven't had a confirmation about how many minutes I'm going to have."

The former responded by saying,

"Let me address that really quick. They said 12 minutes. I got kind of a good confirmation that we could have an extra minute or two, so now we're at, like, 13, 14 minutes. I think, Shakira, what we should have is you should have half the time and I should [have half]."

It's evident that Shakira isn't to blame, as the two musicians are seen working together and supporting each other throughout the film. However, Lopez did not hold back while speaking about the NFL.

Jennifer Lopez added:

"If it was gonna be a double headliner, they should've given us 20 (expletive) minutes. That's what they should've f***ing done."

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Netflix's Halftime drops on the platform on Tuesday, June 14, 2022.