Jennifer Lopez was denied entry to a Chanel store in Istanbul on Monday, August 4, when security staff told her the boutique was at full capacity. The 56-year-old singer was shopping at Istanbul’s upscale Istinye Park when she approached the luxury fashion store during her visit to Turkey for a concert performance.
According to Turkish media reports, a security guard who apparently did not recognize the global superstar prevented her from entering the establishment. Lopez, dressed in a baby pink outfit with matching sunglasses, responded calmly to the rejection. Lopez reportedly said, “OK, no problem” before walking away without any visible reaction to the snub.
Store employees later realized their mistake and approached Lopez with an invitation to return to the Chanel location, but she declined the offer. Instead, the singer redirected her shopping spree to nearby rival luxury boutiques, including Celine and Beymen, where she reportedly spent tens of thousands of dollars during a three-hour shopping excursion.
Lopez was in Istanbul as part of her Up All Night: Live in 2025 tour. She performed at Yenikapi Festival Park during the Istanbul Festival on Tuesday, August 5, the day after the shopping incident. This marked her second visit to Turkey during the tour, following a July 23 performance at Regnum Carya Resort Hotel, where she also celebrated her birthday.
The incident has reportedly caused embarrassment for Chanel’s leadership. According to insider reports, high-ranking individuals connected to the Wertheimer family, who owns Chanel, were horrified upon learning about the situation. Sources indicated that the luxury fashion house realized they had made a terrible mistake by turning away Lopez, describing her as not just a celebrity but a global brand.
Chanel management allegedly issued a private apology to Lopez for the experience. The fashion house reportedly recognized that denying entry to such a prominent figure was not only rude but also bad business. Despite the apology, Lopez maintained her decision to shop elsewhere, sending a clear message to the brand through her actions.
The Istanbul Chanel store has faced criticism previously, holding a low rating of 2.9 out of five stars on Google. Customer reviews have complained about rude and unwelcoming behavior, particularly from security staff at the entrance. Multiple reviewers have described experiences of aggressive treatment and denied entry, even for paying customers, creating an image of elitism rather than hospitality.
Reality television personality Bethenny Frankel commented on Lopez’s experience, sharing her own similar encounter at a Chanel store in Chicago in May 2024. Frankel described being spoken to through a crack in the door in a condescending tone when she attempted to enter without an appointment. She used Lopez’s incident to highlight what she called Chanel’s culture of elitism.
Frankel indicated that luxury brands should reconsider how they treat customers attempting to enter their stores, suggesting that the issue extends beyond recognition of celebrities to how ordinary shoppers might feel when treated dismissively. She noted that from a marketing perspective, the incident might actually benefit Chanel by generating significant press coverage.
This is not the first time Lopez has demonstrated composure when faced with unexpected situations. During her July 25 concert in Warsaw, Poland, she experienced a wardrobe malfunction when her skirt fell to the floor mid-performance. She handled the situation with humor, joking with the audience about being glad she was wearing underwear and continuing with her show.
Lopez’s Up All Night tour began on July 8 in Pontevedra, Spain, and has taken her across Europe, the Middle East, and other international destinations. The tour is scheduled to conclude on August 12 in Sardinia, Italy. This marks her first major tour in six years, following the cancellation of her planned This Is Me Live concerts in summer 2024.
Following the completion of her tour, Lopez is preparing for the October 10 theatrical release of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” a musical film directed by Bill Condon. The movie, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, is based on the musical by Terrence McNally, John Kander, and Frank Ebb, itself adapted from Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel. Lopez stars as Ingrid Luna alongside Diego Luna and Tonatiuh Elizarraraz.
Neither Lopez nor Chanel have made public statements regarding the Istanbul incident. Sources close to the situation indicated that while Lopez holds no hard feelings about the experience, her message to the luxury brand was received loud and clear through her subsequent shopping choices and declined invitation to return.
