Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, better known as Selena, was an American singer who was referred to as the “Queen of Tejano Music.” However, one TikTok user claims it was Jennifer Lopez who made the late singer known to audiences, and his theory has sent social media into a frenzy.
Selena was a Mexican-American singer from Corpus Christi, Texas, who rose to fame on the Latin music charts with her siblings, husband, and band, Selena y Los Dinos. The band played Tejano music and was extremely popular with audiences in Texas and California. The group eventually became just “Selena,” and her album “Selena Live!” won the Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Mexican-American Performance.
The 23-year-old singer was also an accomplished fashion designer and owned a line of boutiques. Selena had been working on an English and Spanish crossover album with hits like “Dreaming of You” and “I Could Fall In Love” when her life was tragically taken from her in 1995.
Selena was shot to death in a hotel by an ex-employee and obsessed fan, Yolanda Saldívar, after it was discovered that Yolanda had been stealing from the singer. According to People magazine, Selena’s last words identified her murderer and hotel room number, “Yolanda … 158.” Selena’s long-awaited crossover album, “Dreaming of You,” was released posthumously and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
In 1997, shortly after the Tejano singer’s untimely death, a film about Selena’s life premiered in theaters. The biopic starred a young Jennifer Lopez, who had already had roles in films like “Money Train” with Wesely Snipes and “Blood and Wine” with Jack Nicholson.
After TikToker @julez540 claimed on X that people knew about Selena only because of Lopez, other fans weighed in. The fan also shared a video of Selena performing at a concert alongside one of Lopez performing as the singer in the film.
Recently, Jennifer Lopez fan Julian Laro took to TikTok to share his thoughts on the impact Jennifer Lopez had on Selena’s legacy in a since-deleted video.
“Jennifer Lopez is the sole reason why so many of us know who this amazing woman is,” Laro said while pointing to his Selena T-shirt. “Y’all ever hear Black people talk about Selena? They ride or die for this b—h, and it’s because of the movie. Same goes for white people.”
He goes on to discuss J. Lo’s spot-on depiction of Selena, referencing side-by-side clips of the actress’ on-screen adaptation next to the singer’s actual performance.
“I’m sorry, but how do you watch that performance and then go on to say this woman has no talent? Did you watch what I watched,” he continued. “In my opinion, Selena and J. Lo have always shared a symbiotic relationship in which they both benefit from each other. Because of J. Lo and the movie, Selena’s legacy continues to live on generation after generation.”
Several fans disagreed with the TikToker and made it known in his comment section.
“Baby you and Selena weren’t even on this Earth at the same time for you to be making these statements with your whole chest like that,” said one fan. “Black people been loving Selena down and it wasn’t SOLELY because of the movie please don’t do that.”
“If Selena wasn’t alive and didn’t die so tragically, then there would have been no movie for Jlo to use as a vehicle to boost the stardom of her career. Get real. Selena owes nothing to Jlo and I’m sure she’d say the same,” added another.
“Selena is the reason why we know Selena. We know J Lo because of stolen vocals and not being able to find the right key,” added another.
There were some commenters who strongly believed the TikToker’s statement that both Selena and J. Lo mutually benefitted.
“the selena biopic surely did help JLo to be known and put her on the map but saying selena made jlo is just delusional. next,” replied an X user.
Laro, who is 33 years old and says he was 5 years old when Selena was killed, later clarified his remarks and noted that by “we,” he meant millennials.
“I said 98% of MILLENIALS were introduced to Selena through the movie. A lot of us know who Selena is because of the movie. Not once did I give JLO credit over everythinggggg involving Selena. NUANCE, my friend,” he wrote.
In 2017, Selena received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her family and widow, Chris Pérez, have worked hard to preserve her legacy with musical tributes every year.
Jennifer Lopez has credited “Selena” for helping to make her more famous than before and once spoke out about being recognized for the first time in public following the film’s release.
“That was when I kind of became famous,” said Lopez. “I had been doing television and actually had done a few movies already, but with ‘Selena,’ there was a new level of fame.”
Her father, Abraham Quintanilla, spoke on his daughter’s legacy back in 2021.
“Over the years, the new generations have discovered her and have fallen in love with her,” he said. “Selena’s life was cut short, but her fans have carried her throughout the years and her legacy is being passed on from generation to generation. That in itself is incredible.”
