Jennifer Lopez Says ‘Kiss Of The Spider Woman’ “Needed To Be Told” At A Time When Latin & Queer People Are “Being Demonized And Marginalized”
Written by admin on September 30, 2025
Jennifer Lopez discussed the cultural and societal importance of Oscar winner Bill Condon‘s upcoming take on Kiss of the Spider Woman.
In an extended interview with CBS News’ Sunday Morning and correspondent Lee Cowan, the popstar-cum-actress, who is a producer on the musical drama film, said the movie needed to be remade because “in times of hate, love is the answer, and that’s really what the movie is about.”
“It is a love letter, in a way, to the Latin community and to the queer community, this movie,” the multi-hyphenate explained. “Because in a time like this, when those communities are being demonized and marginalized, this is a big movie with three Latin stars in it, with the lead being from the queer community as well. So, again, I feel like this story, as many times as it’s been told, needed to be told again.”
She added later, “When times are awful, we turn to art and beauty and music and movies to save us.”
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Alongside Lopez, who portrays the titular role, Diego Luna and Tonatiuh also star. Based on the 1976 novel by Argentine author Manuel Puig and subsequent multi-Tony-winning musical by Terrence McNally (book), John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics) — with the legendary Chita Rivera playing the role of Aurora/The Spider Woman — the Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions/LD Entertainment iteration is the second film adaptation of the source material, after the 1985 Brazilian take featuring Raul Julia and William Hurt.
Set in military-run ’80s-era Argentina, Kiss of the Spider Woman centers on a pair of prison cellmates: Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay window dresser jailed for indecency, who keeps up the spirts of political prisoner Valentin (Luna) by telling tales about his favorite musical actress, Ingrid Luna (Lopez).
When asked by Cowan where Lopez places her “expectations” regarding a potential Academy Award nomination for the part (critics, awards analysts and audiences largely considered her snubbed for both 1997’s Selena and 2019’s Hustlers), Lopez said she no longer pays much attention to that chatter.
“I don’t. I learned my lesson last time,” she said, “but also I think the joy, for me, is in doing it, every single moment. It’s great to be in the conversation, that you’re doing work that people recognize and that they love — that’s enough. And it’s not that you can’t want more, or that you don’t want to stand up there and say ‘thank you,’ of course we all want that, but I realize that I don’t need it in the way that maybe I thought when I was younger.”
“Not that I wouldn’t love it!” she added, laughing, saying she would be “grateful” for the nod.
Kiss of the Spider Woman debuts theatrically Oct. 10.
Watch the CBS interview below:
