Jennifer Lopez [1] is unquestionably an icon, and she's now got the hardware to prove it. Not only was the superstar honored with the icon award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards [2] on March 22, she also gave viewers an unforgettable performance. Before she arrived on stage, Billy Porter introduced a group of drag stars wearing iconic outfits from Lopez's past [3]. Think: that green Versace dress she wore to the 2000 Grammys [4], her Super Bowl halftime show outfit [5], her "Jenny From the Block" music-video look, and more.
Lopez entered the stage wearing a long white coat [6] with a train that read "Equality" as she performed "On My Way" from her movie "Marry Me" [7] and her hit "Get Right." Her performance had the crowd going crazy — and, most notably, had boyfriend Ben Affleck cheering alongside his son [8], Samuel, and Lopez's daughter, Emme [9].
Upon accepting the award from host LL Cool J, Lopez spoke about what being an icon means to her. "Thank you to everyone who comes to a show, streams a song, sees a movie, follows me. You guys are the ones who give me the opportunity every day to live a life I couldn't even imagine would come true when I was a little girl growing up in the Bronx," she said. "You did that for me. You made that dream come true. . . . So I want to say thank you to every one of you for believing in me when other people didn't, even when I didn't. Thank you for teaching me who I really am." Lopez even turned "icon" into her own acronym: "I can overcome negativity." She closed out her acceptance speech by promising fans more to look forward to: "Let me tell you something else. I'm just getting started."
