Unflattering J.Lo story published after Elle magazine pulled it

It’s no surprise that a woman like Jennifer Lopez needs to have her ass kissed as much as possible. So any celebrity friendly magazine that wants to have a good relationship with her will probably bow to her wishes. That’s exactly what happened with Elle. The women’s mag was going to publish a story written by reporter Kevin Sessums – in which he described Lopez accurately and honestly – which at the time meant flu-ish and frazzled.

Lopez engaged in some major overshares and clearly immediately regretted the entire thing. Instead of doing the decent thing and just keeping her mouth shut, Lopez’s people had Sessums’ article squashed and it was instead replaced with a more celeb-friendly (i.e. ass kissy) version that appealed to Lopez’s ego.

ELLE magazine killed a touchy profile on Jennifer Lopez, but reporter Kevin Sessums got his piece posted on Tina Brown’s new Web site, The Daily Beast. Sessums, originally hired to write this month’s J.Lo cover story for Elle, was pulled from the assignment after his first interview “got much too personal” and the magazine put another writer, Peter Rubin, on the profile at the request of Lopez’s reps.

Elle’s article flatteringly focuses on Lopez as a fashion icon. But Sessums describes a flu-ridden Lopez: “Her unwashed hair is pulled severely back and there’s a halo of frizz around the crown of her head.” The bootylicious singer/actress also told Sessums she doesn’t breast-feed her newborn twins, is willing to put the kids in Scientology classes, and said she had “a kind of nervous breakdown” while filming “Enough” (2002). Lopez isn’t a Scientologist but she told Sessums her father is.

A rep for Lopez said of Sessums’ interview appearing on The Daily Beast, “We’re very unhappy about it, and think it was poor judgment on his part. As long as we have represented Jennifer, we have never heard her refer to having a breakdown of any sort.” One insider told us the photo shoot and interview were pitched to Lopez as “a fashion discussion about a woman who had new babies and was doing it all.”

The woman Sessums portrayed was a weepy, fragile new mother who admitted, “I did cry a lot [after the babies were born] because I was having so much trouble moving. I had a C-section.

“I couldn’t get up fast enough to feed the babies. It went on for about three days. [Husband] Marc [Anthony] was helping out a lot and I was crying and crying and going, ‘Oh, Papi, they’re going to know everybody more than me . . . They’re going to love everybody more than me!’ ”

Sessums and an Elle rep didn’t return calls.

[From Page Six]

The version published on The Daily Beast sure wasn’t flattering, but it certainly didn’t come off as malicious in any way. It seems like Sessums simply didn’t cover up for J-Lo, and wrote what she talked about. That’s pretty crappy of her to get his story thrown out for something she found more appealing, but certainly not surprising. In the original story makes her sound very self-involved and unaware. I don’t think she came off as a nutball or anything, just as someone who has no understanding of how she sounds to other people.

It’s hard to say to what extent the Scientology discussion played into the article. Lopez talked a lot about how they’re misunderstood and unnecessarily judged; and it’s clear she’s a Scientology sympathizer, if not an actual member. On Monday night she and Scientologist BFF Leah Remini were at the Elle Women in Hollywood Tribute and they acted more like each other’s dates than friends. Or more like giggly high school girls. No matter how much I love my friends, I manage not to hold their hands when we go to the bathroom together.

J-Lo clearly overshared and regretted it. I’m sure being sick didn’t help things. I’ve made bad decisions about Jennifer Lopez when I was sick too. Once, when I had one of the worst flues of my life, I watched The Cell and thought it was so great I had to own it. A few weeks later I watched it without the benefit of NyQuil or a high fever and realized just how much being sick can affect your judgment.

Here’s Jennifer with Leah Remini at the Elle’s “Women in Hollywood Event” at the Four Seasons Hotel in L.A. on Monday. Photographer: Nikki Nelson. Images thanks to WENN.

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14 Responses to “Unflattering J.Lo story published after Elle magazine pulled it”

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  1. anony says:

    Being sick does not create a narcissistic over controlling personality. Feeling under the weather doesn’t change your personality either.That’s not an excuse for her pulling the story. She’s just a princess .

  2. Savanah Anderson says:

    That bitch needs to get over herself. She is so full of it

  3. Yer Mom says:

    J-Lo is a narcissistic Scieno. No different from Tiny Tom Cruise.

    Except that she’s straight.

  4. vdantev says:

    Scientologists have no sense of humor, especially the new ones.

  5. SeVen says:

    Wonder if her twins are going to be 4 years old and on the bottle ad diapers still? Thats what happened with Leah’s Scientolokid. Clearly her precious chi’chi’s were too delicate to feed her newborns properly
    * no insult intended towards mothers who cannot or chose not to breast feed, just a cheap shot at Jlo*

  6. Kaiser says:

    Yeah, Jaybird, I watched The Cell when I was high, and I thought it was a really good movie, too!

    I also saw SpiceWorld once when I was really drunk and I thought it was hilarious. *shakes head at self*

  7. prissa says:

    While I think it’s very petty for her to have pulled the 1st article, I do not think (the 1st article) portrayed her in a bad light. To me, it made JLo seem human and real for once. Hell, I had a c-section and was in pain and couldn’t move and was frustrated I couldn’t get to my 1 baby fast enough I can sympathize how it must haven been with 2 babies. I haven’t had a “breakdown” but I’ve had much worse. Why is being emotional with all the hormones new moms have flowing in their bodies after birth make her a “weepy, fragile new mother”? Why can’t “stars” be seen as having faults and weaknesses like any other human being???? Why does her being honest make her sound “very self-involved and unaware” instead of REAL for once? ❓

  8. Shay says:

    The crazy thing is the pulled article sounds normal. No one would assume a woman who has twins is walking around their house looking like a runway model. Alot of women have a hard time after C-sections and worry about their kids bonding with them if they can’t spend as much time with them. Everyone already knew her dad was a $cino so this isn’t new info. She probably would have gotten more respect just letting the original story run.

  9. Gigohead says:

    🙁 I’m not a fan of JLo’s but I did sympathize on the few first days of having a c-section. Those killer hormones do get you on or about the third day. She did say some dumb things so it’s clear to me, she isn’t as bright as she portrays herself to be.

  10. Jeanne says:

    She is such a pain in the ass.

  11. ME says:

    J.LO wants to be a Superwoman, so this article makes her look like a semi-normal human being ruins her charade. Like when she said she dint have a nanny but she was traveling all over the world and her kids where nowhere to be seen.

  12. JaundiceMachine says:

    If anything, she comes off as more relatable and *gulp* likable in the original article. I guess she can’t stand to be seen as one of the “little people”.

  13. Trashaddict says:

    Sessums made her sound more human than she usually does. The picture of the babies’ nursery is pretty scary! And she needs to fire whoever is giving her fashion advice these days, what the hell happened? Maybe that’s how HER mother dressed when she was that age….

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