There are few things New Yorkers love more than arguing about what it means to be a New Yorker. Jennifer Lopez just made sure that the debate got a little louder. The Bronx-born singer and actress appeared on Subway Takes, Kareen Rahma's buzzy video series, while promoting her new Netflix romantic comedy Office Romance.
'You have to be born in New York to be a New Yorker', she told Rahma. When the host gasped in disbelief, she explained, 'I know everybody wants to claim the city. Everybody wants to claim our city, but you have to be born in New York. You have to be born in one of the five boroughs to be a New Yorker.'
Who Is a 'True New Yorker', According to Jennifer Lopez
Rahma, who moved to the city in 2021, pushed back. He said he had been told that a decade of living in New York was enough to earn the title. Lopez's response was swift: 'said no New Yorker ever.'
@subwaytakes Episode 720: You have to be born in New York to be a New Yorker!! @JLO #subwaytakes #interview #newyorkers #borninnewyork #nyc
♬ original sound - SubwayTakes
He pressed further, offering a hypothetical scenario: what about a 90-year-old who had spent 50 years of their life in the city? Surely that counts for something? Lopez did not budge. 'I said what I said. You take on characteristics probably by that time. You have a New York sensibility. You pay New York taxes. When you're born in New York is when you're really a New Yorker.'
Where It Gets Complicated
The pushback online was fierce, and it came with an uncomfortable counterpoint. One critic on social media noted that roughly 40% of New York City's population is made up of immigrants, calling Lopez's position 'the holy grail of idiotic takes'. The irony of a proud Puerto Rican woman drawing a hard line around her birthplace was not lost on people.
Saying this about a city where ~40% of the population is made up of immigrants continues to be the holy grail of idiotic takes. https://t.co/odrRQ0ybkJ
— Aaron Carr (@aaronAcarr) June 5, 2026
Then there is the small matter of the city's current mayor. Zohran Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to New York at the age of seven. He attended school in the Bronx, represented Queens in the state assembly, and now runs the entire city.
By Lopez's logic, none of that would be enough. The comments were also quick to point out that Jenny from the Block has lived in Los Angeles for years. While this doesn't strip her of her Bronx roots, it does add a certain flavour to the conviction.
So, Who Does Get to Call Themselves a New Yorker?
There is no clean answer, and there never has been. New York has never needed anyone's permission to define itself.
Rahma eventually offered his two cents: a true New Yorker, he decided, needed to have paid over $100,000 in taxes, contributed positively to the city's culture, lived in the boroughs for at least 15 consecutive years, and had a child born in one of the five boroughs. It is a more generous criterion than Lopez's, but not exactly a low bar either.
Nobody was ever going to win this argument. New York is too messy, too loud, and too stubbornly itself for that. Lopez did not invent this argument—she just gave it a new news cycle. The city has survived bigger debates than this one and will survive a few more.
