Jennifer Lopez plays a woman who finds herself drawn to a younger man in her latest film “The Boy Next Door.” This has led to some tabloid rumors that she’s actually dating her younger co-star Ryan Guzman, which she denied during an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Tuesday.
She did, however, admit to having fun with him at the Golden Globes and the after-parties together.
Even after DeGeneres put up a couple of shirtless pictures of the 27-year-old Guzman, the 45-year-old Lopez stood her ground with her statements, though she did laugh about the images.
In the film, Lopez’s character has a one-night stand with a younger man, who winds up obsessed with her, leading to terrifying and dangerous consequences.
The discussion led Lopez into a discussion about the term “cougar,” which she doesn’t like at all. For one thing, she doesn’t see what’s wrong with people of differing ages being interested in one another and why it’s such a negative stigma for women to date younger.
“I’m not after younger guys. If younger guys like me then that’s one thing,” Lopez said.
She brought up the gender double-standard surrounding the term “cougar” and its lack of a male equivalent.
“There’s like guys who just go after younger women. They have no name,” she said. “No label. And you can date one person. Label.”
See Ellen DeGeneres’ interview with Jennifer Lopez here.
Jennifer Lopez stars with Ryan Guzman in “The Boy Next Door,” slated to hit theaters Friday, Jan. 23. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” airs weekdays in syndication.
