Ben Affleck has moved on from his much-derided career-stalling relationship with Jennifer Lopez to marry a woman who seems her polar opposite in many ways. Jennifer Garner is relatively free from pretension and seems genuinely kind, if a little ditsy at times. (We can’t always be signing her praises.)

Garner has made fun of herself for even small moments of being demanding, saying in a recent Glamour interview that she had to check herself when she found that she was slightly miffed that she had her makeup done after someone else. “Ben’s in Africa studying malaria and visiting slums with a lack of potable water and maternity wards where many women have HIV. So would I really put my energy into worrying that I’m second to get my makeup done? When you think about the bigger picture, it’s hard to not have some perspective.” Lopez, on the other hand, sends lists of demands to hotels where she’s staying that rival many concert riders for big stars.

So Affleck probably feels like he dodged a bullet in marrying and fathering a child with such a lovely low-key woman. He’s not above acknowledging his ex’s happiness, though. Lopez has managed to stay with her third husband Marc Anthony for an incredible three years and now she’s pregnant with up to two babies. Affleck sent her a friendly note to congratulate her on the pregnancy and let her know how much he enjoys fatherhood. His daughter with Garner, Violet, will turn two next month:

Despite telling “Details” magazine that his relationship with the Latin superstar “was probably bad for my career,” Ben sent a personal message to Jennifer and hubby Marc Anthony extending his best wishes, say sources.

Ben, now married to Jennifer Garner, “raved how fatherhood has left him thrilled - and he said he knows what a great mother J.Lo will be,” the source said. “While the two have had little communication since their highly publicized breakup, Jennifer was deeply touched by Ben’s heartfelt message.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 26, 2007]

This isn’t the only one of the couple’s exes that Affleck and Garner are friendly with. They are said to have invited Garner’s ex husband, Scott Foley, over to dinner.

Affleck and Garner have been quite scandal free since their 2005 beach wedding. There was a minor blip in February when a Hollywood madam claimed that Affleck hired one of her girls for sex at least six years ago, back when he was single and known as a partier. That mini scandal quickly blew over, and Affleck has kept his nose and polished clean apart from some rumored online gambling.

Last week’s Life and Style has an article about Affleck and Garner titled “Ben and Jen face the biggest test of their marriage.” They suggest that Ben must be lonely since Jen is devoting so much time to her well-reviewed role on Broadway in Cyrano de Bergerac. The only evidence Life and Style offers that they’re having trouble is that Ben “was spotted nursing a Guinness and knocking back a few glasses of wine after the Oct. 10 Chicago premiere of Gone Baby Gone“! In fact Ben even “filled Jen’s dressing room with roses” and they’re said to be “very much in love.” He probably does feel like he dodged a bullet and landed on a soft bed.

Affleck is shown out with his family on 10/14/07 in NY, thanks to Splash News. He is shown below at the Glamour Woman of the Year awards on 11/5/07.

While I love any list, particularly a top ten, Film Threat’s list of Hollywood’s Coldest People is one of my absolute favourites.

FILM THREAT’S FRIGID 50: THE COLDEST PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD 2007

1. George W. Bush
2. Angelina Jolie
3. Jim Carrey
4. Comedies Not Associated with Judd Apatow
5. Owen Wilson
6. Nicole Kidman
7. Hilary Swank
8. Eli Roth/Torture Porn
9. Jennifer Lopez
10. Jon Heder

While I might have to question George W. Bush’s inclusion on the list, it’s apparently because of his ‘appearances’ in movies like Transformers or TV shows like South Park. Number two Angelina Jolie currently has the number one film in the American box office Beowulf, so it seems particularly bad timing to have her on the most frigid list. Although, have you seen her legs lately? Not hot.

You can check out the full list of 51 on Filmthreat, and the reasons for inclusion, but I have to add that number eleven was Star Wars. I am completely on the anti-Jedi bandwagon. Sci-fi lovers, just because the films were great in the 70’s doesn’t make their prequels good – in fact, it’s like remaking The Dukes of Hazzard or Invasion of the Body Snatchers – perhaps a good idea in theory, but not in practice. Now, commence my stoning to death as I have violated the sacred nature of The Force.

Nicole Kidman may rank high on the coldest people list, but I think she’s hot after she spoke out about the Australian government’s attitude to domestic violence.

“I know why people call violence against women a pandemic.

“It is perhaps the most widespread human rights abuse violation.”

The star called for a greater level of support for victims.

“I urge the Government to do more in relation to victim support services,” she said.

“There needs to be a dramatic increase in counselling services for victims of sexual assault and victims need to be supported better by police and the courts.

“And secondly, there needs to be a huge increase in short and long term accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

“At the moment, I believe, one in two women who approach a refuge are turned away.”

news.com.au

Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but in Australia celebrities don’t get behind political parties like they do in the United States, and an election is only days away. Voting is compulsory there, probably because Australians care so little about politics if it wasn’t no one would vote at all, and if you didn’t make it law for everyone over 18 to vote you’d have to ambush people on the street and force them into polling booths.

Note by Celebitchy: I wanted to find fictionalized portrayals of George W. Bush, and while Wikipedia has a pretty comprehensive list it wasn’t that easy to dig up clips and photos. I did find one though, a clip from Family Guy of George W Bush showing up for Vietnam.

Family Guy George Bush Misses Vietnam

Family Guy shows us how George W Bush missed Vietnman.

Get humor videos at NothingToxic

And here’s a link to a full length clip from the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VII that first aired in October, 1996 featuring Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. I looked hard for Clinton’s appearance on the “Max Power” episode of the Simpsons where he tells Marge he’ll be in the shed out back just in case, and the one where Lisa tells him he gave a lousy lesson and he says “Well, I’m a pretty lousy president” but this was all I could find. Presidents are always fair game for parody, although I doubt Clinton would have made this coldest list ten years ago. I am striving for neutrality here if it isn’t obvious.

Jennifer Lopez is having a baby, as far as we know only one, and we aren’t aware of the gender. However, if you’re feeling lucky you can gamble on the baby’s name, gender and birth date.

When it comes to the sex of the baby, Bodog suggests it’s slightly more likely to be a girl than a boy for J.Lo and Marc. Meanwhile, according to the odds posted on their site, the baby is most likely to be born in April (2:1 odds), with May (2.5:1) a close second.

A baby born before March or after July would provide the biggest payday to the respective gambler, offering 5:1 odds for either pick.

When it comes to naming the little tyke, Bodog offers odds on a slew of names. However, they have dubbed Marco (4:1 odds) and Maria (5:1 odds) as the favorites.

Also on the list of possible wagers are Antonio (5.5:1), Rosario (7:1), Felipe (8:1), Selena (9:1) and Enrique (10:1).

Or perhaps, they’ll keep it in the family naming the child after J.Lo’s mom Guadalupe (9:1) or Marc’s mom, Guillermina (10:1).

For those who prefer the long shots, the name Ben is listed at 15:1 odds and Sean is listed at 20:1 odds.

Access Hollywood

Yeah, next time I have a baby I’m going to name it after my ex-boyfriend. Hubby is going to love that. Love it like putting his hand in a blender.

J.Lo is also rumored to have gone to hospital after exerting herself too much on her tour, fearing a miscarriage after seeing blood in her urine.

A source close to the star says: “She’s petrified that something could go wrong (with her pregnancy). (The hospital visit) really shook her up. If she lost the babies, her life would be shattered.”

And the singer’s doctor isn’t the only concerned party - her mother, Guadalupe, has been trying for months to get her daughter to slow down.

The insider adds: “Her mum’s constantly been on the phone, telling her to calm down. Guadalupe’s very no-nonsense and she’s told Jen that she needs to take some time out of the limelight to enjoy her pregnancy and her babies when they arrive.”

Ireland Online

Oh, the source uses the plural ‘babies’, not ‘baby’, so it must be twins! These unnamed sources are always right.

I find this story hard to believe – if Jennifer Lopez was rushed to hospital, given how closely she’s been followed by paparazzi on bump watch, I’m pretty sure we’d have hospital pictures too. I hope she is safe and well with her pregnancy, But her mother is right that she should take a break. When the quintuplets - tee hee - are born she’s going to regret not sleeping through her pregnancy.

Christina Aguilera confirmed her pregnancy after it was painfully obvious, and now Jennifer Lopez has done the same. In Miami on the last night of her tour Wednesday night she told the crowd “we’re expecting.” She didn’t say when or how many, but she did explain why it took her so long to come out with the news. Lopez says she didn’t want fans worry about her while she was on tour:

”Marc and I are expecting,” she said as the crowd of 10,000 erupted.

Anthony then bent over and kissed his wife’s belly.

”I didn’t know she was going to talk,” Anthony said.

The 39-year-old star went on to say she had waited until the end of the couple’s concert tour in order to make the announcement because she didn’t want their fans to worry about her.

Throughout Wednesday night’s show, JLo joked with the crowd.

”You don’t mind if I catch my breath for a minute,” she said at one point, holding her belly.

[From the Miami Herald via WeSmirch]

Of course Lopez’s clothing designer, Roberto Cavalli, spilled the beans last week, saying that designing for Lopez was different from his everyday work because “she requests something very special because she is waiting for the baby.”

Like an excellent hairdresser, you’re not going to dump a clothing designer you depend on for talking a little smack and she surely forgave him.

Lopez and Anthony let the crowd know that they might stay out of the spotlight for once as Lopez completes her pregnancy. Lopez added “We’re going away for a while.” These two aren’t as overexposed as some, but that sounds like a very good idea. Stay tuned for the tabloids to run “J.Lo’s twins in danger!” headlines next week. They’ve already started speculating in earnest.

Thanks to Splash News for these photos of Lopez in concert last night.

Neither Christina or Jennifer Lopez has actually confirmed their pregnancy rumors. It is painfully obvious that they both are packing some fierce baby bumps. Privacy is hot commodity in Hollywood and runs in short supply. But the rumor mill spares no one. The latest on Baby-Watch ‘07 is that they are both carrying twins.

“Damien Fahey told Us that her condition was obvious. “I’ve been around a lot of pregnant women. She walked around like a pregnant woman, sat like a pregnant woman and stood like a pregnant woman,” he says. “If I were a betting man, I’d definitely bet she was pregnant.” Indeed, Us has confirmed from multiple sources that Lopez is about four months pregnant with her first child. Or children – a source tells Us Lopez’s mother, Guadalupe, 61, “is proudly telling people she’s having twins.”

[US Magazine]

I hardly believe any of the twin theory. Being that we have no idea how far along they are it is difficult to make a judgment when it comes to the size of the bump in relation to carrying twins. It is also unlikely that J.Lo’s momma would be dim enough to go around announcing the pregnancy status.

The NY Daily News made a brief blurb stating that:

“Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman could be doubling their family. A reliable source says she’s expecting twins.”

It is one of those things that appear to be coaxing the stars to clear up the confusion. Or maybe they are taking a shot in the dark and hoping it is true. Then again, I could state that I was a size 4 with a killer rack and I can spit gold, but it doesn’t make it true.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Christina Aguilera out shopping at ‘Design Within Reach’ with her very prominent baby bump accentuated by her horizontal striped dress on October 17th. Image thanks to WENN. Header with Jennifer Lopez at MTV’s TRL on October 8th. Image thanks to PR Photos.

Sometimes I think celebrities are so used to getting things for free that it doesn’t occur to them to pay like a regular person. Swag has its advantages, but the downside is that sometimes you forget that you actually have to use your Black MasterCard. Shocking. I am a lover of J-Lo. I cannot explain why. Everyone seems to be able to tell me about 39 reasons why I should not like her, so I really can’t tell you why I do. But I’m not really a fan of her ordering half a dozen limos for herself, her friends, her family, and her hangers-on and not feeling the need to pay for them.

JENNIFER Lopez racked up more than $16,000 in limousine charges during the July premiere of her Spanish-language movie “El Cantante,” and now she’s fighting the limo company over the bill. While being chauffeured around New York for a week, Lopez - who is obviously pregnant, reportedly with twins - also ordered cars for her husband, Marc Anthony, stylist, Ken Paves, sister, Linda Lopez, and a slew of hangers-on. “Jennifer is being very difficult,” said Spiegel Limousine Corp. honcho Sherif, who asked that his last name not be used. “We’ve been calling for several months to collect on the bill. When I asked why they aren’t paying, the account person claimed nobody had authorized the transactions.” Lopez’s people apparently disagreed with Spiegel over how much is owed for time when the cars had to wait for passengers. After we called Lopez’s reps, Sherif asked us to quash the story, claiming he wouldn’t be paid if we reported the dispute. A Lopez rep told us, “The bills were being reviewed because there were some inaccuracies. An amount has been decided on, and payments are being made.”

[From Page Six]

That’s not really classy. J-Lo, pay up. And give me an exclusive on your twins. Not that it’s any big deal by now, the hype is totally over. J-Lo’s second husband, Cris Judd, confirmed her pregnancy today. She is orchestrating some kind of crazy publicity scheme here. I can’t even imagine what the point is – I guess it keeps us talking. But frankly, if we knew she was pregnant, that would probably keep us talking too. Plus she could get free baby swag. And since we’ve already established that she doesn’t like to pay for stuff, that can only be good.

Jennifer Lopez is so adverse to spending time in ex Ben Affleck’s hometown of Boston that she refuses to perform there. The Northeastern city has too many bad memories for her after her broken engagement to Ben and she’s not about to go back voluntarily:

Jennifer Lopez is touring cities from Los Angeles to Miami to promote her latest CD, Brave. But there’s one city where she won’t be performing - Boston! “Jennifer has very bad memories of the city,” a friend tells Star. It’s where [ex-boyfriend] Ben Affleck proposed to her and where Ben is from.” Since their 2004 split, J.Lo and Ben “have not been friends,” adds the pal. “She’s mad that he continues to trash her and their relationship in the media.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 29, 2007]

Affleck told Details Magazine recently that dating J.Lo “was probably bad for my career,” and that the tabloids made up a lot of crap about them. It’s possible this story is made up too, and that Lopez isn’t playing Boston because she couldn’t fit it into her schedule or something and that it has nothing to do with Ben.

Lopez is definitely pregnant despite not making a public statement or confirming the rumors. Her stomach is clearly visible, even in the loose fug outfits she’s been wearing on tour. At a joint gig on Friday in LA, Lopez’s husband Marc Anthony sang the Journey hit “Faithfully,” dedicating it to her and saying that “[the] song has a whole new significance.” It includes the lyrics “They say that the road ain’t no place to start a family.” Isn’t that song about an impoverished musician being separated from his wife? It doesn’t really seem to apply to a multi-millionaire couple that gives detailed requests of how the room should be stocked before they stay in five star hotels.

Lopez is shown on 10/11/07 celebrating the release of her new album, Brave. Thanks to Splash News and WENN.

Jennifer Lopez sure is a bundle of contradictions. Though she’s talked quite a bit about her desire to have children, she has yet to confirm her pregnancy, which doesn’t seem to be a matter of “if” so much as “when” and “how many” at this point. A lot of people have pointed out that even if someone is famous, they’re still under no obligation to inform the rest of us as to the status of their bellies. Alright, I’ll buy that (you’re forgiven, Christina Aguilera) but J Lo has actually said that if she was pregnant, she’d be hollering about it so loudly you’d hear her from the other side of the county. Or some such thing. My point being, she hasn’t given us any reason to believe she’d be coy about it, and yet here she is, keeping her lips sealed.

So would you like further proof that she’s got a bun (or two, depending on reports) in the oven? She and husband Marc “Skeletor” Anthony spent two hours at famed Los Angeles baby boutique Petit Tresor shopping for the future baby Lopez. They even had the store closed down so they could do it in privacy. Ahh, to be rich and powerful. And married to a really ugly guy.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony still aren’t speaking about their pregnancy, but their shopping is doing all the talking for them! The parents-to-be visited Petit Tresor, the baby boutique to the stars, Wednesday afternoon to iron out nursery design details, a source tells OK!. And the two spared no expense, dropping more than $50,000 on supplies!

“Petit Tresor will be designing their baby nursery and the theme is nursery rhymes,” the source says. After being ushered into the store, which was closed off to the public, through a back entrance, Marc and J.Lo spent two hours picking out the perfect baby necessities and accessories, most of which will be custom-made, including the cribs, changing tables and armoires. “There will also be custom-painted murals on the walls,” the source adds. As OK! confirmed earlier this month, the couple is doubling their pleasure with twins. But because they have yet to find out the sexes, “they’ve chosen both ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ items, which will be interchangeable and the design for the nursery will be finalized when they do know the genders of both.” Also on the registry are strollers, Moses baskets, a complete layette, blankets and a handful of toys.

[From OK!]

Can you imagine having $50,000 to spend on your own, adult room? Most of us would be thrilled with $50,000 to spend decorating our whole house. But a baby? Come on, the kid is going to have no idea. You know the rule, you buy your child an expensive toy, and they have more fun playing in the box it came in. I bet you anything, Baby Lopez (I’m calling him/her that because the idea of a Baby Anthony is utterly terrifying to my soul) will spend more of its time making forts under the golden crib than giving a care that he/she has a golden crib in the first place. Regardless, I’d love to say “Congrats” to the happy couple, but until I hear an announcement, I’m going to technically assume that J-Lo has just gotten fat in one very specific area. So until you tell me otherwise Jennifer, I’m going to suggest that you might want to do some sit-ups.

Jennifer Lopez smirked her way through David Letterman’s baby blabber, and ignored Diane Sawyer’s hints at how ‘happy she was’, but no direct baby questions were asked. Are we getting the impression that maybe some kind of pre-interview confidentiality agreement is out there? After all, David wasn’t exactly polite to Paris Hilton last week about going to prison. Maybe J.Lo is scarier than Paris?

However, one person has signed nothing but divorce papers from Marc Anthony, and she has a word to say about J.Lo’s pregnancy.

Jennifer Lopez is pregnant, says her husband Marc Anthony’s ex-wife.

Dayanara Torres - who has two children with Marc - confirmed Jennifer and her singer husband are expecting their first child.

The former Miss Universe said yesterday (09.10.07): “I found out a day ago. I suppose they will be happy because when my sister had her baby they were happy.”

Jennifer, who is currently touring with Marc, has remained silent about the rumoured pregnancy - instead choosing to disguise her figure in loose-fitting outfits.

Monsters and Critics

I’m glad Jennifer’s stepkids will like the baby, but here’s a weird response J.Lo’s publicist gave to Dayanara Torres’ statement.

“What happened was that the day before I had shown Dayanara the pictures which have been spreading through the Internet of Jennifer, and I warned her that, as had been published, she might be pregnant. I did it in case the children asked her. The eldest is six years old, and he hears the comments at school and on the press. But the truth is we know nothing.”

E!Online

Er, what? If they publish enough pictures of your pregnant belly, it makes you pregnant?

I’m offering congratulations to Jennifer and Marc right now. I am hugely pregnant right now and sick of people pointing out how big and fat I am (and yes, people actually use the term ‘fat’), so I can imagine that if she’s not pregnant she’s hating all the speculation. If she isn’t pregnant, then I guess the belly explains the lackluster dance moves on her tour – too out of shape to groove.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Jennifer Lopez is shown outside the Late Show and performing on GMA on 10/9/07. She is also shown outside of MTV studios on 10/8/07. Thanks to PRPhotos.

TMZ is saying that they have confirmed with “sources” that Jennifer Lopez is pregnant with twins. So there’s a slightly new spin on the story. The couple have publicly let everyone and their mother know that they want kids – and then as J-Lo’s stomach began to grow, heartedly denied all questions of pregnancy. Now whenever someone quotes “sources” it’s a good idea to take it with a grain of salt, but J-Lo’s reportedly been undergoing fertility treatments, which dramatically raise the chances of having multiple babies. Or it could just be speculation because twins would make an extra cute story. Aww, wouldn’t it be funny if one baby were all pretty like Lopez, and the other looked like a little troll doll like Anthony? Not funny “haha,” funny “sad.”

“After months of ‘is she? or isn’t she?’ controversy, Jennifer Lopez, 38, is set to announce her impending motherhood during her Madison Square Garden concert in NYC on October 7. More importantly — La Lopez has a bigger surprise up her sleeve — she’s having twins!

“‘Jennifer is having twins, and she’s over the moon about it,’ a source close to the singer reveals exclusively to OK!. ‘She is absolutely glowing with happiness. She’s spending time relaxing with Marc and enjoying being pregnant, which is something she has always wanted.’

“The babies will be Jennifer’s first (and second) children, and numbers four and five for the fertile Marc Anthony. And although the babies’ genders are not yet confirmed, one can only hope for two little lady Lopez’s in training.”

[From OK Magazine]

Yeah one can only hope for “two little lady Lopez’s” because anything that resembled Anthony would be a terrible, terrible thing to inflict upon the world. So I guess OK has their own source too. It’s hard to know if it’s a different source than TMZ’s (which I guess is what they’re telling us, since the “source” is telling them exclusively) but I’d bet it’s just one person blabbing to everyone who will pay.

Even though I really don’t think Marc Anthony should be allowed to procreate (no, not JUST because he’s ugly but also because he’s supposedly scarily Svengali-like) I really hope they’re pregnant – Lopez has been vocal about wanting kids for a long time, and for some reason I can’t explain I absolutely love her. So I hope she pops out as many fat little non-Marc Anthony-looking babies as she’s able.

Note by Celebitchy: The National Enquirer reports that J.Lo is expecting fraternal twins, and that they will be a boy and a girl. Sorry JayBird, we could be in for at least one little Marc.

We’ve learned that Jennifer Lopez is pregnant with twins, according to friends. Now we’ve learned that she and husband MArc Anthony are expecting a boy and a girl in the spring.

“Marc wants to name their daughter after his mother, Guillermina - and they’re toying with English versions of the Spanish name, which loosely translates to Wilma or Wilamina,” revealed the friend.

“Because Marc already has two sons, Jennifer will chose the name of their baby boy.”

Now in her second trimester, Jennifer, 38, “feels great and looks radiant,” said the friend. “She’s having no morning sickness, and she’s eating really well.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, October 15, 2007]

Congratulations to Marc and Jennifer if this news is true. She certainly looks pregnant and Marc said that thing about how “it’s a blessing to watch her grow on a daily basis.”

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are shown in the header image at a public school in the Bronx on 9/25 to kick off their concert tour. Thanks to WENN for this picture.