Saturday Night Live might get a little awkward for Ayo Edebiri after her past insults about Jennifer Lopez’s career resurfaced.
Years before starring on The Bear, Edebiri, 28, appeared on a 2020 episode of the podcast “Scam Goddess” to discuss Linda Taylor’s welfare scam. During her chat with host Laci Mosley, Edebiri brought up Lopez, 54, and said she believed Lopez’s entire career was “one long scam.”
“Well, that’s the thing. She thinks she’s on multiple tracks, but it’s not her,” Edebiri explained at the time. “I think she thinks that she’s still good even though she’s not singing for most of these songs.”
Edebiri confessed she became “fascinated” by Lopez songs that allegedly feature other artists’ vocals instead of the pop star’s. The Emmy winner said she then started “reading up” on other cases.
“A lot of the write-ups of the songs will be like, ‘J. Lo didn’t have time to make it to the studio,’ like J. Lo was busy,” Edebiri said. “It’s like, ‘Doing what?’ Not singing, obviously!”
Fast-forward four years later, and Edebiri was selected to host the Saturday, February 3, episode of SNL alongside Lopez herself, who will be the musical guest.
Ahead of the episode, the duo came together alongside cast member Heidi Gardner to promote the show.
“I’m really excited, I love your show,” Lopez said to Edebiri during one promo teaser on Friday, February 2. Edebiri replied, “I love your everything.”
Neither Lopez nor Edebiri have addressed the 2020 comments.
Since Edebiri’s podcast appearance, she’s come a long way in her career. Last month, she won her first Emmy for her role on The Bear.
“I’m so incredibly grateful for this for so many reasons. But the main one, this is a show about family and found family and real family,” Edebiri said during her acceptance speech. “My parents are here tonight. I’m making them sit kind of far away from me because I’m a bad kid. But I love you guys so much.”
While Edebiri has earned a lot of praise lately, she’s also caught some flack for her candid movie reviews on the website Letterboxd. Despite the backlash, Edebiri brushed it off, saying her comments were all in good fun.
“I’m a comedian. Anything I say online, I think I would say to somebody’s face,” she told reporters following the Emmy Awards in January. “I have a Letterboxd [account] because I love movies, I love TV, I love this industry. I know how hard it is to make something. I respect everything that’s ever been made.”
