These Are The Real-Life Hustlers

For Lopez's character Ramona Vega, the "Hustlers" ringleader was inspired by the original brains of the operation, Samantha Barbash (aka Samantha Foxx). Sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty for various crimes including conspiracy, assault, and grand larceny, she believed that her story was certainly one worth telling, but never settled on this film being the one to do so.

Originally, Foxx was approached by the studio to purchase the rights to her story but declined. Speaking to Vanity Fair shortly after the release of "Hustlers", Foxx revealed, "they were trying to pay me a minuscule amount. I'm a businesswoman. J. Lo doesn't work for free. Why would I? At the end of the day, I have bags that are worth more than what they wanted to pay me." After seeing the finished product, Foxx said, "I wasn't really that impressed. I was impressed with Jennifer. She was incredible. Her body looked incredible. She had it down to a T, but it wasn't factual."

Foxx declared that crucial details in the film were factually incorrect, going as far as to sue STX Films in 2019. Speaking to the New York Post at the time, she said, "we're putting a stop to it because she's [Lopez] actually misrepresenting me. I was never a stripper. It's defamation of character." Foxx declared that she wasn't a stripper as shown in the film but a hostess (via Yahoo) for the club, Scores, where the scams took place.