It seems that Jennifer Lopez is making things worse for every woman on the planet. Any woman over the age of 45 (or any woman who might not choose to pop on a swimsuit and douse herself with lube) should look away now.
Lopez's new single, Booty, has debuted at number 18 in the US Billboard chart. This is her second-highest entry after On the Floor entered at number 9 in 2011. (You will have to insert your own double entendres, I'm afraid.)
"Was it for this that women chained themselves to railings?" asks Barbara Scully, who presents The Hen House on Dublin South FM. Once she got over the shock of realising that Lopez is 45, Scully found the whole thing in which Lopez bumps and grinds (sometimes lubed up - oh, just watch it!) wearing highcut swimsuits "profoundly depressing" .
So far more than 32 million people have viewed the video, which also features Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. On YouTube, likes outnumbered dislikes by less than 2 to 1, indicating a much higher disapproval rating for a video than usual. Whether this high disapproval rating is more down to the quality of the musical offering that the quantity of flesh on display has yet to be determined.
“Big, big booty
What you got a big booty
My baby, you’re gorgeous
I mean you’re fine, you’re sexy
But most of all you are just absolutely booty-full
Throw up your hands if you love a big booty”
The lyrics “are awful”, says Scully.
Comedian Tara Flynn is "all for people doing anything that make a them feel empowered. If you want to strut your stuff, then strut your stuff," she says. "I was glad of the booty shots because I didn't have to listen to the song - and the song is awful. You can't just say the word booty and repeat it".
“If this is what J Lo wants to say at this stage of her career, then that’s sad,”she said.
Over on Twitter, Australian musician and former Distillers lead singer Brody Dalle is cutting to the chase.
“I think J Lo and Iggy Azalea have lost their heads up each other’s big butts.
“I’m trying to understand what the point of their horrendous video is but I can’t find one
“The song is a piece of crap that was written by waaay too many people including a well know woman beater.”
There is a long list of writers on the credits for Booty, but it does include Chris Brown. Brown was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna and sentenced to five years' probation, told to attend domestic violence counselling and do community service by a US court on August 25th, 2009
The involvement of Brown is “very disappointing”, said Flynn. “I don’t want to criticise a successful woman for who she chooses to collaborate with, but it’s a shame.
“The message of the whole thing is I’ve got the number of a great waxing place.”
But (pardon the pun) isn’t J Lo using this video to strike a blow for middle-aged ladies?
“I’m the same age as J Lo,” says Flynn, “and I go to the gym but I don’t look like that.”
Neither Flynn nor Scully feels under any pressure to conform. “She’s not putting me under pressure,” says Scully. “When you get to a certain age you couldn’t give a rat’s ass really. It’s definitely not empowering, though.”
The stripped-back, butt-focused Booty video is doing nothing for Flynn either. "It feels very hollow and cynical. It's over-styled. Actually it's all style and no substance." It's not the booty that narks Flynn, it's the lack of any message.
Scully is also disappointed by the lack of depth from a “mature” J Lo. “The song boils everything down to the size of your butt and how you look.” That’s no gift to advancing generations and is a waste of a platform, she says.
Former Jersey Shore star Snooki disagrees. She loves Booty. "The fact that she (J Lo) is in her 40s and is a mom of two and has a body like this, I'm like dude I want to look like her when I'm her age."
We all do, Snooki. We all do.
