Key Takeaways
- Jennifer Lopez cruised through Venice on a gondola and posted the clip with the caption “I had to do it…🛶,” directly reenacting Madonna’s iconic 1984 “Like a Virgin” video sequence (minus the wedding dress and lion).
- The moment underscores how Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” era—her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, a 21-million–selling album now in the National Recording Registry—still shapes pop visuals nearly 40 years later.
- Lopez, who has recently been sharing gym selfies, motivational messages, and family snapshots, turned a simple vacation post into a deliberate homage to one of music video history’s most recognizable images.
Jennifer Lopez just borrowed a page from Madonna's playbook. The singer and actor recreated the iconic gondola sequence from the Material Girl's 1984 "Like a Virgin" video while visiting Venice, Italy, returning to the same canals that helped turn one of pop's most controversial songs into an enduring cultural touchstone.
"I had to do it…🛶," Lopez wrote on Instagram, sharing a clip of herself cruising through Venice in a direct nod to the Queen of Pop. While she skipped the bridal gown and lion from the original, the reference was unmistakable: a gondola gliding through Venice, just like Madonna did in a video that helped define the MTV generation.
It's the latest reminder that Madonna's visual language still has a grip on pop culture nearly 50 years after she first hit the scene. Released in 1984, "Like a Virgin" became Madonna's first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, while the video—directed by Mary Lambert—turned Venice itself into part of the song's mythology.
The album eventually sold more than 21 million copies worldwide and, in 2023, was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.
Lopez has spent the past several months giving fans a steady stream of behind-the-scenes moments, from workout updates to holiday snapshots with her family.
Earlier this year, she shared a gym selfie alongside the message, "Keep it simple…," followed by another slide reading, "The goal is simple. Better than yesterday. Every. Single. Day." She also marked Memorial Day with poolside photos featuring her children.
The Venice clip, though, landed differently. Rather than simply posting another vacation video, Lopez tapped into one of the most recognizable images in music video history. The original "Like a Virgin" visual wasn't just an MTV hit—it helped establish Madonna as a boundary-pushing pop force whose influence still echoes across generations of artists.
