‘She Should Be Crying About Stealing That Song’: Fans Bring Up Ashanti After Jennifer Lopez’s Gets Emotional For Not Receiving an Oscar Nomination for ‘Hustlers’

Last month, Ashanti opened up about what it meant to finally receive public recognition from fans for her work in two of Jennifer Lopez‘s hit songs after 20 years. The list included the remixes to “Ain’t it Funny” and “I’m Real.”

Although Ashanti wrote the lyrics to both tracks, controversy erupted after the singer’s demo for “I’m Real,” which was recorded as a reference for Jennifer, ended up on the song’s final version. When the single was released in 2001, Jennifer was the only one labeled as the credited singer. While it’s unclear if Ashanti was ever given proper credit, many continue to vouch for the star.

Ashanti and Jennifer Lopez
Fans bring up Ashanti after a clip of Jennifer Lopez’s documentary showcase the singer crying over not receiving an Oscars nomination for “Hustlers.” (Photos:@ashanti/Instagram, @jlo/Instagram)

One particular example occurred on May 19, after a trailer of Jennifer’s new Netflix documentary titled “Jennifer Lopez: Halftime” showcased the 52-year-old crying after getting snubbed for an Oscar nomination for her role in “Hustlers.”

“Hustlers” was a 2019 crime drama that followed the lives of former strip club employees that conned their Wall Street clients. The film was inspired by several New York feature articles, including ones by the New York Post and the New York Daily News. In “Hustlers,” Jennifer played the character Ramona. 

During the documentary, Jennifer is asked if she thinks she would be nominated for an Oscars after receiving a Golden Globe nomination. She responded, “I mean I hope so.” The clip then transitions to the actress finding out she was snubbed and discussing during a voiceover how it affected her self-esteem. 

She said, “I had to really figure out who I was and believe in that and not believe in anything else.” Jennifer added that she worked incredibly hard for this role because she wanted to connect with others.

She stated, “I do this not for an award. No, I do this to connect with people.”

As the clip circulated online, many brought up Ashanti and the recognition she failed to receive for her work back in the day. One social media user also mentioned Mariah Carey and Christina Milian.

“But was @ashanti in tears for everything JLO was nominated from an idea that came from them … you can’t win everything sometimes you have to have several seats.”

“She should be crying about stealing that song from Mariah Carey, Ashanti, Christina Millian and other people of color vocals! But we don’t know her anyway..”

“Everything been easy all her life while Ashanti been singing her a– off on those songs, girl that movie was not that good, stop it Jennifer.”

“This is the same lip singing over Ashanti’s vocals.”

“Nothing about that movie gave Academy Award. Ashanti didn’t even say the lines for you.”

Back to top