Jennifer Lopez has hailed America Ferrera as "an inspiration" who "motivates us to use our voices".
The singer/ actress showered praise on her friend at a special screening of the Barbie film for the Latin community staged in Los Angeles over the weekend.
According to editors at People, Jennifer introduced America on stage for a discussion about the representation of Latin women in Hollywood.
"Barbie is all about empowerment," she said, reported the outlet. "No matter if we're a girl from the Bronx via Puerto Rico, from Los Angeles via Honduras, or from Mattel via the magical pink box. There is no one who embodies this more on and off screen than my friend, America Ferrera."
Jennifer added: "She has been such an inspiration as we continue to empower the Latin community. She shows up when we need her - motivating us to use our voices to advocate for a better world."
America returned the compliments, gushing of the superstar, "There was no road before you, and every single thing that you've done and every step that you paved is still permission in every way for me and for so many of us."
In the 2023 blockbuster movie, America played Gloria, a Mattel employee who is struggling to connect with her daughter.
She made global headlines for her character's speech, which detailed the impossible standards women are told they should live up to.
It started: "You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean."
The monologue was three minutes long, with many cinema audiences bursting into spontaneous applause when it was finished.
