When welcoming the new year 2024 with Ben Affleck and excited about many cherished projects, Jennifer Lopez probably could not have imagined that she would experience a difficult year from her personal life to her career.

Dailymail commented that Jennifer Lopez has had a dark year and experts are analyzing how the 55-year-old artist will recover from this crisis. In addition to the divorce with Ben Affleck, J.Lo also faced a series of career setbacks: failed albums, heavily criticized documentaries, canceled tours… She was also mentioned in another shocking scandal of the year.

Album is not selling well

Earlier this year, Jennifer Lopez released the album This Is Me… Now , which focused on love and healing. After a decade without an album, many predicted that this music product would be a big hit and would be warmly welcomed by the audience. However, when it was released in February, This Is Me… Now only ranked 38th, becoming J.Lo’s first album to not enter the top 20.

The album ‘This Is Me… Now’ was a follow-up to 2002’s ‘This Is Me… Then’ but was not as successful as the previous album.

Not only the public was indifferent, music critics also did not appreciate Jennifer Lopez’s new album. The Guardian described this album as “completely mediocre” and left no mark other than following the singer’s love story with actor Ben Affleck. The Guardian commented: “While J.Lo promises to show us her true self, it is difficult to see that in this glossy and sexy work.”

Two album-related projects criticized

In parallel with the album, Jennifer Lopez released the musical film This is Me… Now: A Love Story and the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told – both of which were rejected by critics and audiences.

The musical, which stars a cast of actors and dancers, reenacts “Jennifer’s journey to find love.” Unfortunately, it was not well received. One reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes called the feature-length music video and film odd and overly serious in its take on Jennifer’s love life, which has been the subject of decades of media coverage.

The singer spent a lot of money making a music video and a documentary about her love story with Ben Affleck.

The documentary, which focuses on J.Lo’s reconciliation with Ben Affleck after 17 years of separation, was also criticized. Many people commented that the film was unrealistic and fanciful. J.Lo also faced backlash when she revealed love letters that Ben had kept for the past two decades, criticizing the singer for being too ostentatious about his love and not paying attention to the feelings of Ben’s ex-wife and children.

According to sources, Jennifer Lopez financed these two films out of her own pocket when all potential partners backed out. She spent a whopping $20 million on the biggest project of her life, but in the end, it was not received as well as expected by the audience.

Tour canceled

The On the Floor singer had planned to embark on a North American leg of her This Is Me… Now: The Tour to promote her new album. In April, it was revealed that Jennifer had renamed the tour This Is Me… Live and would be performing hits from her entire career rather than focusing solely on her new album. The reason was that her recent releases weren’t catching on, and Jennifer wanted to emulate the success of touring artists like Taylor Swift and Madonna.

J.Lo is scheduled to tour North America from June to August.

However, by May, the official Ticketmaster seating map showed that many tickets were still unsold, and some websites were reselling them for as little as $10. At the time, a source told Dailymail that the organizers wanted to cancel the tour, but J.Lo and her manager objected: “Live Nation was worried about unsold tickets and didn’t want Jennifer to feel embarrassed when she went to the stadium and saw large empty seats. But Jen’s pride was such that she didn’t want to cancel, so the tour went on. They couldn’t convince her.”

In late May, as Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s marriage was in trouble, Jennifer announced she was canceling her tour “to spend time with her children, family and close friends.”

Movie criticized

Jennifer Lopez had a successful 2023 with two films she starred in, the romantic comedy Shotgun Wedding on Amazon Prime and the action drama The Mother on Netflix. However, her next film, released in 2024, was not highly appreciated.

J.Lo’s sci-fi film Atlas, which she co-starred in and produced, was released in May to negative reviews from critics despite making it into Netflix’s top 10 in 93 countries. The Guardian called it J.Lo’s worst film of her career, while Screen Rant wrote that the film was “completely wrong about science fiction.”

Jennifer Lopez at the premiere of ‘Atlas’. Photo: FilmMagic

On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has a low 19% rating from critics and a 46% rating from audiences. One reviewer said: “This is an easy movie to watch because most of the plot is unimportant. It’s even more forgettable.” Another wrote: “Jennifer Lopez can’t save this boring movie, which feels like a repeat of other action/sci-fi movies of the past.”

Later this year, Jennifer Lopez made headlines with her supporting role in the film Unstoppable , which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September . Jennifer’s performance and the film received positive reviews, but the box office was disappointing. Many fans predicted that Jennifer Lopez could be nominated for a Golden Globe in 2025 for her role as the mother of disabled athlete Anthony Robles, but luck did not smile on her. Audiences were disappointed when Jennifer Lopez’s name was not on the list of nominees announced in early December.

Fourth marriage fails

The beautiful love story of “broken mirror reunited” with Ben Affleck after 17 years of separation was the inspiration for Jennifer Lopez to compose a new album and make a documentary. However, just two months after these projects were released, the couple had a serious disagreement and separated. Ben moved out, renting a house next to the villa of his ex-wife – actress Jennifer Garner – and his children. J.Lo still lives in their old home – a $60 million villa bought last year.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez split after three years of reconciliation and two years of marriage. Photo: AFP

The couple has remained silent on the breakup rumors, but they are no longer together, instead each focusing on their own lives. Jennifer Lopez traveled to Europe alone, moved to the East Coast of the US for a vacation while Ben stayed in Los Angeles to spend time with his children and work.

On August 20, two years after their wedding, J.Lo filed for divorce, citing the date of separation as April 26. A source revealed to People that the singer had tried to reconcile with Ben during the summer months, but the Batman actor was indifferent and cold, so she finally decided to file.

J.Lo’s second breakup with Ben Affleck, just three years after their reunion, left her deeply hurt. In an interview with Interview magazine in October, the 55-year-old star said she felt “almost broken” and uncertain about her future. However, J.Lo said this breakup was like a lesson that helped her become stronger and find happiness on her own.

J.Lo and Ben are currently in the process of divorcing. The couple is selling their mansion to divide their assets, but so far there have been no buyers.

Ex-boyfriend caught in sex scandal

Amidst all the turmoil in her personal and professional life, Jennifer Lopez has had to deal with another blow this year involving her ex-boyfriend Diddy. The rap mogul had his home raided by federal agents in March and was arrested in September on charges of sex trafficking, extortion and soliciting prostitution. Prosecutors say Diddy hosted parties for years, where the rapper threatened and forced victims to have sex with customers and filmed them.

Jennifer Lopez’s famous relationship with Diddy from 1999 to 2001 was rekindled, with photos of the singer attending her boyfriend’s parties. In addition, several Diddy sexual assault lawsuits were filed around the time J.Lo was dating the controversial rapper. Diddy’s scandal inevitably affected J.Lo’s life and reputation.

Jennifer Lopez and Diddy (right) with guests at the rapper’s party. Photo: PatrickMcMullan

J.Lo has tried her best to stay out of trouble with her ex-boyfriend. She has chosen to keep quiet and once abruptly walked out of a fan signing when asked about Diddy.

Can Jennifer Lopez weather the storm soon?

Looking back at J.Lo’s ups and downs in life and career, public relations experts say the difficulties of the past year were just a short-term crisis for the singer.

“Jennifer Lopez is no stranger to adversity. She has built her entire career on resilience and reinvention. So I don’t see this moment as the end of the world. Jennifer has proven time and time again that setbacks don’t define her, they only fuel her. The truth is, the J.Lo brand has experienced temporary setbacks. But she can’t be defined by one album, one movie, one relationship, or even one era in her career. J.Lo is a symbol of hard work, innovation, and perseverance,” said expert Jon Harris, 56.

Eric Schiffer, an international expert on reputation and branding from Los Angeles, assessed that J.Lo’s reputation is so great that the failures of the past year cannot bring her down. However, Eric thinks that the female artist should choose more suitable and quality artistic projects.

Jennifer Lopez is known as a multi-talented artist, hard-working and constantly striving to build success.

Amidst all the difficulties throughout 2024, Jennifer Lopez herself has always shown strength and optimism, maintaining a positive attitude every time she appears. In a mid-December interview with Variety , J.Lo thanked the audience for always being with her throughout her 30-year career journey and added: “I really feel like the best is yet to come.”