Jennifer Lopez isn't a diva

Apr 12, 2010, 12:01 GMT

Jennifer Lopez is not a diva.

The 40-year-old singer-and-actress claims she is not the difficult star many assume she is and admits she gets upset by the accusations.

She said: "I never like stories where people say I misbehave or act like a diva, because I don't. Or that I make terrible demands, because those are always fabricated stories, and always have been.

"But they've become such a strong part of my image that I have no control over it. They're not true, though, and that's always bothered me."

Despite her frustrations, the 'Jenny from the Block' hitmaker tries to ignore the more outlandish claims because she knows she is a good person.

She told the New York Daily News newspaper: "You have to keep a sense of humour. There's something that people want about that diva idea, and I don't understand it and it bothers me because it's not the type of person I am, but what can I do?

"What's always served me throughout my career is that when people get to know me, or talk to me, and they actually get a chance to see what I'm like, it combats the negative stuff - when they get a chance to see who I am as a person and what I'm about, and that I laugh and giggle and that I'm normal. The truth always comes out at the end of the day."

Jennifer - who has two-year-old twins Max and Emme with husband Marc Anthony - also revealed her recent break from acting reinvigorated her career.

She said: "I feel like it's a new beginning. It's a bit like when I was a teenager about to embark on this career but it's much more challenging, difficult and harder.

"I have so much more experience now but I feel just as fresh as I did back then and I'm excited about my life."