Rumors emerged claiming Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz had a hard time shooting scenes with one another in, What To Expect When You’re Expecting.
It is quite a common occurrence in Hollywood that two actors star in the same movie or TV show – even as best friends or romantic partners – but totally fail to get on with each other in real life.
A good example is Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment, who were two of the main stars in the sitcom Hannah Montana. In her 2009 biography Miles to Go, Cyrus revealed that despite their best efforts, the pair never quite got to see eye to eye. “Emily and I tried to be friends, we really did, but it always ended in a fight. Our characters got along so well, why couldn’t we act the same in real life,” she wrote.
Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson, Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley, and even Christy Carlson Romano and Shia LaBeouf are all examples of stars who partnered up on screen while feuding off it
Rumors about a similar fall-out started floating around in mid-2011, with suggestions that Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez were having issues with each other on the set of the rom-com What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
What Roles Did Cameron Diaz And Jennifer Lopez Play In What To Expect When You’re Expecting?
The movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting was released in May 2012. It was written by Shauna Cross and Heather Hach, based on the best-selling book of the same name by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel. The film follows the lives of five couples as they navigate the ups and downs of pregnancy and parenthood.
Cameron Diaz played Jules, described as “a contestant on a celebrity dance show and a host to a weight-loss fitness show, who becomes pregnant with her dance partner’s baby girl.” Jules is a high-strung, organized, and ambitious woman who is used to being in control of her life. However, when she begins trying to get pregnant, she finds that things don’t always go as planned.
Jennifer Lopez featured as Holly, a photographer who is trying to get pregnant with her husband Alex, portrayed by Rodrigo Santoro.
Holly starts to feel pressure from her family and friends to have children, and she begins to worry that she might not be able to have a baby. She therefore decides to adopt a baby boy named Kaleb from abroad, creating tension between her and Alex.
Cameron Diaz And Jennifer Lopez Were Rumored To Be Feuding On The Set Of What To Expect When You’re Expecting
Principal photography for What to Expect When You’re Expecting took place in July and August 2011. It was then that rumors emerged, claiming that Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez could not get along while filming the movie, and that they were reportedly “fiercely competitive” with each other.
According to a report published in The Independent, the pair did not particularly “like each other,” and both kept trying to stay out of the other’s orbit around work. “They don’t interact much, but when they do, the tension is thick,” the publication said, quoting an insider.
Diaz was apparently not impressed with all the speculation happening in J-Lo’s personal life at that time, as the pop star had just recently announced her separation from husband Marc Anthony.
“Cam sees all that stuff and the hoopla around J-Lo’s divorce from Marc Anthony and whether she’s dating [their co-star] Rodrigo [Santoro] as a distraction from work,” the source added.
Cameron Diaz And Jennifer Lopez Denied That There Was Any Bad Blood Between Them
It was also said that Cameron Diaz did not like the number of people that Jennifer Lopez had with her on set. “[Cam] is annoyed by Jennifer’s huge entourage, which includes her mom, three assistants, makeup and hair people and her manager,” the insider was quoted saying.
“She made a snide comment to the effect of, ‘How many people does it take for one woman to film a simple scene?”
Most of the purported beef appeared to be coming from Diaz’s side, if the inside source was to be believed anyway. The star of The Mask even reportedly took a shot at her co-star’s acting skills, with Lopez choosing to “act as if Cam doesn’t exist,” on the other hand.
The pair eventually got to respond to these allegations when they appeared together on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2012. J-Lo insisted the beef wouldn’t have been possible because their filming schedules meant they barely ever got to see each other anyway.
“They always want women to be cat fighting,” Diaz said of the rumors. “They are always pitting women against each other. Are the men all sword fighting? That doesn’t happen.”