NEWSPitbull Confesses He Got 'Excited' When He Danced Too Closely to Jennifer Lopez During 2011 American Music Awards Performance
Pitbull looked back on his 2011 AMAs performance with Jennifer Lopez during a recent Q&A.
Oct. 22 2026, Published 3:26 p.m. ET
Pitbull looked back on his iconic performance with Jennifer Lopez from the 2011 American Music Awards.
Mr. Worldwide, 45, and the "Jenny From the Block" singer, 57, crooned their party hit "On the Floor" at the awards show, with Pitbull recalling he got a little too close to her bottom on stage.
Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez collaborated on their 2011 hit 'On the Floor.'
During a Q&A with Billboard Latin Music Week in Miami on Wednesday, October 21, Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Pérez, revealed he got "excited" when he rubbed up against Lopez at the awards show.
"It was an absolute blessing and honor to work with Jennifer Lopez and everything that's she done in her career," the Latin hip-hop hitmaker said.
Jennifer Lopez Didn't Practice That 'Certain Move' During Rehersals
Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull performed together at the 2011 AMAs.
He then touched upon the famous viral photo of the two on stage at the 2011 AMAs where Lopez had her booty up against the "Hotel Room Service" rapper while they danced together.
Pérez noted that the Maid in Manhattan star didn't do that "certain move" during their rehearsals. "When the show went on and when she did that move, I got excited," he joked.
"So it makes sense that in that picture... you know what I'm talking about," he quipped as laughter erupted from the audience.
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Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull Have a Long-Lasting Friendship
'He’s like a brother to me,' Jennifer Lopez previously said of Pitbull.
Lopez also performed her tunes “Until It Beats No More" and “Papi" before Pérez joined her on stage for "On the Floor" at the time.
Pérez and the Bronx native have collaborated on several other records throughout the years, including songs such as 2012's “Drinks for You (Ladies Anthem), “Dance Again” and “Live It Up."
The "I Know You Want Me" rapper and the Hustlers star's friendship has continued over the years, with Lopez also gushing over Pérez back in 2014.
Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull collaborated on several other songs throughout the years.
"He’s like a brother to me," she said during an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show at the time.
In 2016, Pérez shared more about his platonic friendship with Lopez, telling The Talk: "I always have to find any excuse to collaborate with Jennifer."
"You know how you have the angel and the devil, she's my angel. She's always talking to me like, ‘Why are you so wild and lose and off the chain?' And I say, ‘Well Jennifer, this is who I am,'" he added.
"She absolutely is drop-dead gorgeous and powerful and sophisticated and militant and diligent and a hard worker and that is why Jennifer is Jennifer," he raved.
