Jennifer Lopez posted a defiant video to her Instagram Stories early Friday morning, days after it was reported that friends fear she is heading toward burnout because of her relentless work schedule.
The 57-year-old singer and actress was filmed riding in a chauffeured car as an inspirational, expletive-laced voiceover played over the footage. "Be the person people look at and say, 'How the f** is this mother-f***er still going?' That's all you need to know if you do that for life," the voice said.
The clip showed Lopez shifting from a contemplative expression to a smile as the words played, dressed in a black-and-white striped blouse with a red tie, her hair and makeup done for business.
A packed schedule
Lopez's new $20 million deal with Dolce & Gabbana means she will be taking on even more work as her career shifts into overdrive. She is already planning a major international tour next year while continuing to pursue acting projects and promote new films.
Following the back-to-back releases of Office Romance, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Unstoppable, Lopez faces a heavily packed promotional schedule from late 2026 through early 2027. She will also be promoting the thriller The Last Mrs Parrish, in which she stars and serves as a producer, as well as Ice Age: Boiling Point, in which she returns to voice the character Shira. Lopez has also announced that a filmed version of her Las Vegas residency, The JLo Show, will stream on Paramount+.
"She is working her tail off because she wants to stay busy, though there is some concern she may burn out," an insider told the Daily Mail. "But this is how she stays sane during this weird time in her life."
Life after divorce
Lopez has had to reconfigure her life following her divorce from Ben Affleck, which was finalized in January 2025.
She is also said to be dreading an empty nest as her 18-year-old twins, Max and Oskar, prepare to head off to college. Oskar was born Emme and adopted a masculine name and he/him pronouns in May.
"It's not an easy time for Jennifer, there are a lot of changes, it's very emotional, but she finds comfort in working nonstop, which is great because her career is still doing very well," the insider said. "She just works, works, works! She likes to be a workaholic, she is incredibly driven, a typical Type-A Leo who wants to never be out of the spotlight."
"For her, working is better than staying at home eating takeout from Nobu alone in front of the TV. She would rather wake up at 5am and put in a 14-hour day and never complain," the source said. "But one day she may wake up completely exhausted."
A history of burnout
That is exactly what happened a little over two decades ago, when Lopez pushed herself to the limit and worked 98 days straight without a rest. Speaking on the SmartLess podcast in June, Lopez recalled making four movies in a row while also recording her J-Lo album. "I was working, filming every day… All the hours, then I would go into the studio at night, and then at the weekend I would have junkets or video shoots or whatever," she said. "And I remember not clocking that I had worked 98 days in a row without taking a day off. 'Cos we went back and counted 'cos we were like: 'What happened?'"
The breaking point came while she was filming the 2002 action-thriller Enough. Lopez told podcast hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes that she began feeling a "pitter patter" in her heart every time she walked to set, which built into nervousness. She told the young actress playing her daughter that she felt tired and strange, and the girl reassured her, "It's ok, you'll be alright."
"But I wasn't alright," Lopez said. "And I went back to the trailer, and I sat down, and all of a sudden I just couldn't see. I couldn't see clearly, something went over my eyes, and I couldn't move."
Her security guard rushed her to the hospital, where doctors told her she was suffering from exhaustion. "I said to the doctor, 'Am I going crazy?' And he's like, 'No. You're not crazy. You've shut down,'" she recalled.
