Though it’s difficult at this point to count or keep track of all the brilliant visual performances Beyonce has given us over the years, a few do stand out in recent memory. One of which is her performance of “Drunk In Love” at the 2014 Grammys. The set included dark lines of shadow and light as Beyonce writhed and crawled around on a table and chairs, in a black catsuit with her hair stringy and wet. Well, last night in her performance at the 2020 AMA’s, Jennifer Lopez adopted a lot of verrrrry similar visual cues for her rendition of Pa’ Ti” and “Lonely” with Maluma.
Sure, there’s no copyright on black catsuits or certain hairstyles, or even lighting cues or dance moves, but it was the presence of all four elements in a super recognizable format that had fans a little surprised that Lopez would not even consider how the performance might come off. And yes, Jennifer Lopez is a great performer in her own right, but the sheer force of cultural momentum that Black women are responsible for creating, and somehow never received proper credit and recognition for, is unparalleled. If she was going to draw on Bey as an inspiration, she should’ve credited her — and to say that performance wasn’t partly an inspiration for her AMA’s appearance just doesn’t seem to ring true. Check out more thoughts from fans below.
If that Jennifer Lopez #AMAs performance looked familiar to you, you may be remembering #Beyonce at the 2014 Grammys. #JLo #AMAs #AMAs2020 pic.twitter.com/D4Wq43eNqA
— Lisa Respers France (@LisaFranceCNN) November 23, 2020
Hell Naw #beyonce #JLO #LatinGRAMMYs #funny #AMAs #BlackTwitter #HipHopCulture #behive pic.twitter.com/spGo87xECn
— JusKeepIt100 (@JKeep100) November 23, 2020
If you look back on Jlo’s career she has a bad history of stealing from artists, especially black ones. Thats why Usher has sued her, Mariah Carey doesn’t “know her” and why you still hear Ashanti’s voice on the “I’m real” remix.
— Sources (@symphanieaaliya) November 23, 2020
Jlo’s team every time Beyoncé performs: pic.twitter.com/qqYRlIwQGa
— tony (@kingalreadyx) November 23, 2020
Not JLo dressed the exact same way as Beyoncé did for her “Drunk in Love” performance at the Grammys. Even down to the wet hair and the chair
— Cheyanne. (@CBabeey) November 23, 2020
Well, this Chicago/Beyoncé hybrid performed by @JLo is the 100% effective vaccine we all need right now!!!! Cc: @vickiberwick #JLo #scorchio #AMAs https://t.co/UHhnnFiUkK
— Bhushan Kumar (@bogeyno2) November 23, 2020
JLO is giving “Drunk in Love” by Beyoncé #AMAs pic.twitter.com/5muOIrbxYa
— RCE (@moreofmaur) November 23, 2020
JLO giving me Beyonce vibes #AmericanMusicAwards pic.twitter.com/zaxKRwvRx7
— V (@MsVangie) November 23, 2020