While many of us dream about being celebrities, the reality of fame can be a double-edged sword. Namely because it makes one's personal life into a public matter that can be judged in the court of public opinion. While we saw this with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's reunion, this has been the case for all of the pop star's relationships. That includes her previous engagement to Alex Rodriguez, who is the subject of a new documentary Alex vs ARod (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription). JLo is noticeably missing from the doc, and the director explained why this happened.
Rodriguez is the latest athlete to get a documentary series, Alex vs ARod, which recently premiered on HBO. While his relationship and breakup with JLo made plenty of headlines (especially thanks to those Southern Charm cheating rumors) it was noticeably missing from the doc. In an interview with THR, director Gotham Chopra addressed the "Lets Get Loud" singer's absence, saying:
There were no ‘rules of engagement’ so no, nothing was off limits. In terms of his past relationships, we did refer to them visually in some of the sections about his crazy off-field life, indiscretions, ubiquity on Page Six etc. when he first joined the Yankees. And again, he talked candidly about those mistakes and regrets.
That does clear things up. Some folks online thought that perhaps Rodriguez specifically asked Jennifer Lopez to not be the focus of his new documentary series. But it sounds like no subject was off limits for Alex vs ARod, including his time with the global pop star/actress. But that simply wasn't the story that the documentary was trying to tell.
Later in the same interview, Chopra further explained why Rodriguez's new documentary doesn't put much focus on his former relationship with Jennifer Lopez. In the director's words;
In terms of his most recent high-profile relationship with Jennifer Lopez, we had made a conscious effort to really focus on his baseball career — and specifically his PED use — and not necessarily to do the total biopic. Alex definitely pushed us to include his purchase of and role with the Timberwolves, but we told him, ‘Sorry pal, maybe for the sequel!’
It sounds like Alex vs ARod is focusing on a very specific time in Rodriguez's life, resulting in a number of other juicy storylines being left on the cutting room floor. And that means we might need another season is he's going to break down his famous relationship with JLo.
In a way I have to tip my hat to Gotham Chopra for not bringing Jennifer Lopez into the narrative of thi doc. It presumably would have made a ton of headlines if it did, but that wasn't what the story was about. Talk about integrity.
Alex vs ARod is streaming on HBO Max as part of the 2025 TV schedule. We'll just have to wait and see how successful the documentary is, and if a sequel is eventually ordered.
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