Despite her insistence on calling back to her time on “The Block,” fans still aren’t quite sure which street in the Bronx Jennifer Lopez is talking about. The singer has been more than candid about her upbringing in the New York City borough, and has toured her childhood stomping ground on Castle Ave for more than one interview.
With her latest multimedia project, This Is Me… Now her “Jenny from the Block” persona is facing more scrutiny than ever. Decades worth of clips have resurfaced and with each new video, more New Yorkers are disowning the Boricua artist. Dropping “F**k you” when asked about things New Yorkers say was enough to rankle citizens in the Big Apple, but Lopez’s “go to” bodega order has them turning that particular phrase back on her.
What was J-Lo’s Bodega order?
It might seem absurd to rip apart a bodega order, but when it comes to New Yorkers and their favorite local places to get a bite to eat, they aren’t messing around. Bodega orders are deeply personal and remind locals that there is a little slice of nostalgia right around the corner. Almost every NYC resident who weighed in on the conversation had their own sandwich orders locked and loaded and were practically salivating just thinking about the experience.
Jennifer Lopez’s bodega order unleashed a feeding frenzy, and every part of the order has been easily deconstructed online, as easily as Lopez’s simple order could be.
“My go-to order at the bodega was…” she trails off, scraping the corners of her memory for the “complicated order” before continuing, “Ham and cheese on a roll.” According to commenters, this answer alone is suspect enough. New Yorkers were quick to share their own bodega orders and the specific language they use daily, “had she said a “chopped cheese” I might have believed her,” wrote one.
“She panicked because she couldn’t remember what a bodega even was for a second,” mocked another.
But the real point of contention for most, New York native or not, was her drink order. Sharing a moment with the camera Lopez continues, “Orange Drink, if you know you know,” and the “confession” is unintentionally hilarious.
“‘If you know you know’ IM CRYING does SHE know??” one user wrote.
“Orange drink, if you know you know” girl u mean a damn Fanta??” added another.
Older users and those from Spanish neighborhoods jumped to the singer’s defense, saying that what she was likely referring to was, “quarter water.” For those of you unfamiliar with the term, quarter-water is cheap, flavored, sugar-laden beverage that come in barrel-shaped jugs and are sold at lower-income stores and of course, bodegas.
Other users pointed out that “orange drink” could easily apply to Tang, Sunny D, Orangina, or just OJ. We’re not sure if Lopez would appreciate commentators pointing to her age while they defended her, but it’s important to remember that Lopez has been away from the block longer than she was ever on it.
“Bruh she’s 50, her Bronx was not the same as it is now,” one user reminded. “It’s been 20 years since then.”
Despite the few commenters that had J-Lo’s back, there were plenty who still felt the “orange drink” line was a push for clout.
“Quarter waters for sure. I’m 44. Nobody says ‘orange drink’ lol.”
The fun doesn’t stop there, however. Lopez finishes her order by saying, “and a small bag of chips.” The internet unraveled over the phrasing. “What bodega has size options? What flavor of chips?” a million voices cried out at once.
Commenters were torn between frustration and humor. “The fact she specified *small* bag of chips triggers me beyond belief,” one raged.
“You know they be having small, medium, large, and extra-large” creator @VXO13 mocked.
“She described what they gave me in holding,” cackled one former inmate.
The resurfaced interview has sparked a conversation about the authenticity of Lopez’s carefully manufactured persona. She’s made it incredibly far, talent considered, but amid weak ticket sales for her upcoming tour, her struggle to come across as relatable in the social media era, and the massive backlash over her “delulu” project The Greatest Love Story Never Told, 2024 definitely isn’t panning out the way she thought it would.
But hey, the bodega order is nowhere near as cringy as that video of her desperately trying to get an old man from “the Block” to recognize her, so at least she has that going for her.
