George Lopez says he’s retiring from comedy, but the legacy he leaves behind is complicated
Between announcing his retirement from stand-up comedy and debuting a new look on The Jennifer Hudson Show, George Lopez has been enjoying heightened attention. However, the attention also means his many controversies are resurfacing.
Lopez is an actor and comedian best known for his role in the ABC sitcom George Lopez, in which he portrays a fictionalized version of himself. More recently, he created the sitcom Lopez vs. Lopez, where he stars alongside his real-life daughter, Mayan Lopez. He has also kept busy with his stand-up comedy performances and specials. Last year, though, he announced he was stepping back from comedy. Lopez confirmed that his upcoming comedy special, Muy Católico, will likely be his last. As a result, he appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show to talk about his final show. However, he unwittingly went viral over his new look, as viewers were surprised by his rugged appearance and long hair.
As beloved as Lopez is by many for his nostalgic comedies and for boosting Latino representation on television, not everyone in the comedy world will miss him. Although he has largely managed to sweep most of his controversies under the rug, they’ve begun attracting renewed attention as the comedy world reflects on his legacy amid his potential retirement.
Why is George Lopez considered controversial?
Lopez’s main controversies stem from evidence that he wasn’t a stellar partner to his ex-wife and multiple instances of him losing his temper. Everyone loses their tempers at times, but Lopez has been accused of assault and getting inordinately offended by fairly trivial things. In 2007, many were surprised to learn that he allegedly physically attacked fellow comedian Carlos Mencia over a supposedly stolen joke. During a comedy show, Joe Rogan publicly confronted Mencia on stage about stealing comedians’ work and brought up Lopez’s assault. He asked Mencia, “George Lopez didn’t grab you by your f***ing neck and slam you up against the Laugh Factory wall for ripping off his s**t in your HBO special?” Mencia responded, “Yes, he did.”
Later, Lopez admitted to the attack, explaining he assaulted Mencia after an HBO special the comedian did that allegedly had up to thirteen minutes worth of Lopez’s material. It remains unclear if the jokes were stolen, especially since Mencia provided video proof seemingly refuting the allegations. Even if the joke were stolen, most would agree that doesn’t warrant laying hands on someone. There was also suspicion that Lopez was simply jealous of Mencia, a suspicion that bears weight given Lopez has been known to tear down fellow comedians, such as Ralph Barbosa. This also isn’t the only time Lopez’s explosive temper has gotten physical. In 2018, he was charged with battery after trying to snatch a phone and grab the neck of a man filming him, though Lopez maintained he was provoked.
Other times, though, Lopez’s angry outbursts seemed wholly misdirected. Just last year, he left audiences shocked when he abruptly walked out of a soldout comedy show because he claimed the audience was disrespecting him. A video showed him giving the audience three strikes to calm down. However, many questioned if his irritability was justified as the video revealed no heckling outside of shouts of praise and applause, such as “We love you.” Still, with 30 minutes left of his show, he got up and left, leaving the audience stunned. Later, his team insisted that the crowd was “unruly” and Lopez was in an unsafe environment. The venue later countered these claims, alleging he had his own private security to maintain order and that the crowd was not unruly or threatening. It concluded that he “let his fans down” and offered refunds to the audience that was left hanging.
That also wasn’t the only time he showed a lack of tolerance for his audience. Back in 2017, during a comedy show, Lopez cracked an anti-Black joke, suggesting that a Latino family “rule” is “Don’t marry someone Black.” When a woman in the audience flipped him off, Lopez lost it on her. In a video posted by TMZ, Lopez responds, “Sit your f***ing a** down.” He approached her, saying, “I’m talking to you, b***h. Sit your f***ing a** down. B***h, you paid to see a show. Sit your a** down. If you can’t take a joke, you’re in the wrong motherf***ing place.” For over a minute straight, he continues harassing and directing expletives at her, although, from the video, she doesn’t appear to be doing anything. He then had security remove her from the show.
It’s quite clear that his reaction was way overblown. It’s a comedy show. Not everyone will like his jokes, especially if he starts cracking racist ones. He shouldn’t make controversial jokes if he can’t take a negative reaction.
Did George Lopez cheat on his wife?
In addition to his outbursts, Lopez admitted that he cheated on his ex-wife, Ann Serrano. While appearing on The Jasmine Brand, Lopez explained his cheating was so frequent he created a technique so his colleagues could warn him when his wife was coming to one of his shows. He showed no remorse as he laughed and bragged about cheating. “You know, we had chicks in the back,” he said. “And then, when Ann was gonna come to the show, I would tell those dudes, ‘Alright, get a piece of paper and put a big red dot in the middle of the paper … and put those dots all up and down the halls, so that everyone knows Ann is coming to show.'” He laughs about how Serrano would ask what was up with the red dots and how he’d tell her the women backstage were “Mother Teresa and Kamala Harris” when she asked questions.
A man laughing about cheating on his ex-wife would be abhorrent in every situation. However, what makes Lopez’s behavior particularly horrific is that Serrano once donated her kidney to save his life. He was suffering from kidney disease so advanced that his kidneys were no longer functioning. So, his wife gave him one of his kidneys, not only saving his life but allowing him to live pain-free after years of discomfort. Considering men nowadays receive praise for doing the absolute bare minimum for their partners, Serrano’s gift was quite huge. In response, by his own admission, Lopez seems to have cheated on her so frequently that he needed to be warned before she came to a show. The pair ultimately divorced in 2011 after 17 years of marriage.
With Lopez back in the spotlight, his underlying controversies raise the question of whether he should be getting this kind of support and farewell from the comedy community. His actions aren’t completely unforgivable—they really just seem to come down to his not being a very good person. It raises a complicated question of how heavily we should weigh the morality of celebrities when it comes to supporting their work.
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