I should admit this at the beginning: I have never, ever watched an episode of American Idol. Ever. I’ll see a few minutes here and there, but quite honestly, I’m just not that into it. It’s not an elitism thing, I swear. I love TV. I just prefer scripted TV and PBS programming for the most part. Antiques Roadshow will always be more interesting to me than whatever “singing competition” show is popular right now.
I stated all of that to justify my lack of concentrated interest in this story: Jennifer Lopez is leaving American Idol after two years as a judge (it’s only been two years, right?). J.Lo’s career was faltering (at best) and at its lowest ebb (at worst) before Idol, and now that she’s found career rejuvenation, she’s quitting that bitch. Will you miss her?
Jennifer Lopez may have just been named by Forbes magazine today as the most powerful celebrity, but her reign at American Idol is coming to an end. While J.Lo has publicly said she has yet to make a decision about her future on Idol, sources exclusively tell me that she she’s planning on calling it quits.
“She’s just too busy,” one source said. That’s so very true.
She’s about to launch a mega concert tour with Enrique Iglesias that kicks off this summer in Latin America and the U.S. She plans to go worldwide in the fall. I’m told Lopez will be on the road, at the very least, through the end of the year. The next round of Idol auditions will begin while she’s overseas.
The superstar apparently wants to free up her schedule next year, possibly taking a little hiatus from work to be with her kids.
“It is just like any working mom’s dilemma,” Lopez told us at Monday’s premiere of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. “It’s tough. It’s a balancing act. You put them first and then you have all these other things that you have to do, that you have to give your time to as well, and you have to make sure that they’re OK in the process.”
Fox declined to comment on Lopez’s future with the show. Meanwhile, a source close to the production tells E! News that “Fox does not want to let her go. They love her.”
Lopez has been on Idol for two seasons with one-year contracts for both. Now the question is, will Fox try to change Lopez’s mind with a much bigger payday?
[From E! News]
Considering the story originated at E! news, home of everything Ryan Seacrest and Seacrest-adjacent, I’d be willing to bet it’s close to the truth. <em>Us Weekly is cosigning E!‘s report too – a source tells Us Weekly, “She regrets she can’t stay on the show. It’s been an incredible experience and she is forever grateful that she did it.” My question: is it rude/unprofessional/tacky to quit the reality show that gave your career a second act? I think it is. Especially since they’re paying her so, so much money (and Jennifer has expensive tastes). I wonder if Casper is encouraging her to quit, or if Jennifer feels like she has to choose between her lover and her career. Ugh. Typing that sentence made me nauseous. Whatever, peeps. You know LeAnn Rimes is totally going to try to get cast as Jennifer’s replacement.
CB reminded me that there’s been tabloid speculation for several weeks that Jennifer is being pushed out of AI because she hasn’t been delivering the ratings they were hoping for. At the Fox Upfronts, AI producers were also hinting at some “reconfigurations” for the show too. So maybe Jennifer was fired? Although… my gut says no.
By the way, the photos are Jennifer’s Mario Testino photo shoot for the June issue of Vogue. She’s modeling swimsuits. Sure. You can see the Vogue pictorial here.
More photos of Jennifer looking horrible at the What To Expect premiere a few days ago:
Photos courtesy of Mario Testino/Vogue and WENN.
I’m seeing alternate realities – either the dress makes her look fat or the bathsuit photos were shopped. It’s not the same woman or figure.
Obvious photoshop gaffe on wine-colored swimsuit. Note where her hands are on her waist, then directly under the hand, her hip is smaller than the waist.
there is a god! i only watch that show online and everytime that woman speaks i have to fast forward. its that bad. her voice is soooo effin annoying, i dont know how that casper dude does it. she must have a mute button we dont know about.
I love this! Mute button! Spit my coffee out on that one.
I heard Casper speaking on E! the other night and he sounds like he has marbles in his mouth. He is definitely a mumbler.
Can this be a strategy to get a huger paycheck?? Or this is what they’re saying she quits because she demanded a huger paycheck? I don’t know.
For the shoot, photoshop or not she has a marvellous skin.
That’s what our local deejays on our radio station were saying this morning. It’s just a ploy to get more money.
She’s not worth it. Kick her to the curb, AI.
It more than likely is a ploy and it will more than likely backfire in her face. I will never understand how “Jenny from the Block” gets paid MORE than Steven effin Tyler. Yeah the lead singer if Aerosmith gets paid less than this “singer”. Not to say that he is eating fried baloney sandwiches and drinking tang but still. She was saved by this show and in the same time it took to get her here she will be back in the same hole wishing she was still on the show.
I will say though she does look good in the photos.
Fried baloney and tang, that is hilarious! I think everybody on these shows has pricked up their ears after hearing what Britney just signed for.
I think of JL as a sort of spokesperson. She can’t sing, she can’t dance, I don’t think she writes songs, when left to her own devices she cannot dress herself, but she sort of models, and I think she speaks fairly well on AI and I ::gulp:: sort of like her on Idol, by default. I would not be interested in any other projects she places herself in however. Not sure if anybody else feels this way though.
That’s what she did last year. When she was asked if she was coming back she played the “I-don’t-know-we’ll-see” card.
I personally can’t stand this woman. I used to watch the show occasionally but when she joined, I haven’t watched once. Just can’t with her.
Thank you! You said everything I was thinking when I heard the story.
She is totally doing this to get a bigger paycheck. She KNOWS the reason her music career is doing a little bit better right now is because she had the advantage of premiering videos/songs infront of Idol’s built in audience.
It isn’t a wonder that she is doing this while being named Forbes Most Powerful Celebrity. She is flexing that power right now for more money. Good business move.
I’ve never watched AI either so I won’t miss her. I’m giggling into my coffee that she’s being photo-bombed by the movie poster.
Ha! That was the first thing I saw/thought, too. 🙂
The face that guy’s making in the movie poster perfectly matches the attitude she has standing in front of it.
And thanks the lawd she actually has her lips together in almost all these picks. If I have to see her “Blue Steel” face one more freaking time…AAHH!!
I have not stopped laughing at that photobomb.
And if you stare at it long enough, it starts to look like she has another head growing out of her. Like that crazy movie with Richard E Grant.
I don’t get it, why would it be tacky ‘to quit the reality show that gave your career a second act?’ Is she supposed to stay on it forever? I think that’s totally up to her. Although I DO believe that she’s being pushed out- I’d milk that baby for all its worth if I was her. And I’m sure there’s quite a bit left: all free publicity AND they’re paying her. She’d be a fool to quit now.
Sidenote: I love the contrast between those heavily photoshopped, well-lit Vogue photos of her and the snapshots that show what she REALLY looks like. You know, like a beautiful 40-something woman who takes good care of herself. Not like a ridiculously taut, glowing 19-year-old alien.
As a UK citizen I would quite happily swap any of our barrel-scraping judges – Tulisa (who?), Cheryl Cole (girl band member with assault conviction) and Dannii Minogue (sibling of famous singer who just happened to have humped on Simon Cowell) – for J-Lo, so count yourselves lucky America!
And OK, so she’s ‘shopped in Vogue but if you look at the premiere shot there must be somewhere in her attic a painting gradually getting more and more hideous.
That, or Satan does accept blood sacrifice…
LoL you just made my day with the mirror comment
Can you give more details on Cheryl Cole’s assault conviction? I haven’t heard about that (granted, I have never heard a Cheryl Cole song either). 😉
I remember her saying last year that she wasn’t returning to Idol. She did it to get more money. If Jennifer does leave I think it will be about ego not the kids. I think she believes that she’s back on top and doesn’t need Idol anymore. I feel like Jennifer’s popularity and success is so closely tied to Idol that she’ll fail if she leaves.
Nigel what’s name, the head honcho says they absolutely want her on the show. He thinks this is just the beginning of the negation process.
I hope it’s just the beginning of the negation process! She can’t slide back into obscurity fast enough for me.
I see what you did there…. ;0)
Who knows if she is leaving really or if this is a way to generate PR for more money.
I think she is a good judge, but I stopped watching because it has become the JLO show. The focus is on what she is wearing or what song she is going to pimp or her relationship with Casper. The Contestants are the second thought and that is what I don’t like about this season. It started last season when she and Marc were together. Him on the show as a consultant. Now it is all about her and that is not what this show is suppose to be. She and Steven both have used the show to help them professionally and when was that the concept of the show. I don’t watch anymore. And if she is back I won’t again. I don’t dislike her, I just don’t like how she makes it about her and not the aspiring talent.
Bring back the show as it was intended. You didn’t get Paula performing every week.
@lisa: ^^^^this
I haven’t watched since 2004 when my old house buddy moved out. But didn’t it used to be about the CONTESTANTS??? Underwood, Clarkson etc. Now, no one even knows the winner last year (I’ve asked my co-workers who actually watch). Heck when they talk about AI on the morning radio, I never even hear mention of the contestants. These fameho’s need to let these up and coming kids have the spotlight.
Jennifer also gets to lip sync, while contestants have to sing live. WTF is that about???
exactly! I stopped watching when they started over-dramatizing the contestants lives, too boring for me.
But your right, I could not tell you who the winner was for the past cpl seasons, its all been about the judges since Simon left.
I happen to flip thru last week when JLo was singing and it was so fake, all lip singing with auto-tune just to show off her new boy toy.
Major turn-off that they switched to using the show to boost the judge’s falling careers.
also, she is so photo-shopped in those pics. The 1st one doesnt even look like her. JLO looks good but her skin looks nothing like that. they even trimmed her arms down to the point that they dont look like real arms.
Oh please! Let it be true! I’m so over “The Jennifer Lopez and some kids that sing” show. Jlo went to the Mariah Carey school of, “Me, me, everything in life is all about ME”. She’s a terrible judge and it’s so blatently obvious that she plays favorites. She needs to go back to making soft core pron videos with her icky boyfriend as her full time job!
But sadly, I think this is just like last year where she did the same thing to get more money. sigh.
God, I would kill to have an ass like JLo.
No need. Just get yourself some photoshop. It works for her.
If she leaves the show, I think it would be because she was fired. I cannot imagine her quitting, cause she lives large and has bills to pay. She’s got to buy nice things for her 3 kids.
“She’s got to buy nice things for her 3 kids. ”
*chokes on coffee*
LOLOLOLOL! You made my day girl! You made my day!
Or she wants more money.
I would bet $$$ that this is just a ploy for her to have lots of people say “Oh please don’t go ~ We love you”, then there will be haggling over $$$ and she will stay. She is enjoying the admiration far far too much.
She will never get over herself.
She looks prettier with hardly any makeup and when she uses dresses with less fabric.
The Testino shots are amazing. And she looks so much better and younger with no makeup.
And if she does leave the show, her popularity will drop again. No one is interested in her music. She’d better get back to acting while people will still hire her. She’s not that great an actress, but likeable enough in the right role.
God remember how HUGE she used to be? More famous than pretty much any star I could compare her to right now. It can’t be easy to cope with the fact that you’re not the most in demand celebrity, anymore. And with the fact that it was all the crappy, ex-marriage-related side-projects that did you in.
Pu-leease? No make-up? LOL.
heh–yeah, I guess I meant “no mask-like makeup”
She is usually wearing enough to look like a cyborg.
i see her spanx in that dress. if she leaves, i’ll start watching the show again. hope she does!!
Right?? I thought those were spanx, too… Either that or she’s wearing salmon-pink running shorts under her dress!
She looks so f’ing ridiculous in that last photo. As TLo would say, “Girl, this isn’t your dress.”
I don’t think it’s unprofessional/rude/tacky to leave a job that gave your career a new boost. She did her job, fulfilled her part of the contract, and I’m sure the tv network made tons of money thanks to her as well. It’s not like she indebted to AI for the rest of her life.
Watching her on AI made me love her again, and I was seriously hating her before. She comes across(IMO) as very genuine and I love when she says ‘goosies’ and calls the contestants ‘baby’. IDK, I like her on the show.
I totally totally agree! despite any of her personal life, I’ve always liked her but it was starting to wain when she was with Marc Anthony. She knows she lost her edge from that marriage and I’m not saying it’s right to leave your husband for that reason but it had fizzled out long before they ended it. She went on Idol to regain her footing and that she did. and you know what, I LOVE HER ON IDOL. she looks incredible and her comments are genuine and articulate. she even criticizes in a way that can only be taken constructively without hurting feelings and I do like when she says goosies and baby.
Gag me with a spoon.
I absolutely agree!
This would be the best decision that AI has ever made. the ratings will probably go up once she is gone. I personally think she is a no talent hack!! To me, all of her music sounds the same, and I’ve said it a million times before, if it weren’t for p-diddy, or whatever his name is today).
I never watch singing shows, you see one and you’ve seen em’all.
She is absolutely shameless no one was checking for her before idol. She was at best on the road to has been motel, and then boom she is getting endorsements and repping fiat like she would ever drive one! She needs to be thankful and not bite the hand that feeds her. Loyalty means nothing to her? If this is a ploy for more money then she is more lost than i imagined
On another site I keep seeing comments from men saying they don’t think she is into herself. It is all I can do to NOT respond. 🙁
Stay strong, sister. Don’t give in to the urge to describe her as I did in my post below. 😉
Hee hee ~ Thanks! ☻
I never cared for AI, I just like how funny it is at the beginning. But I did try to watch last season because of Steve Tyler and despite of JLo. I find her very annoying and stopped watching, cause even Tyler cannot counterbalance how annoying she is. They should let go of her. I don’t even get why people like her anyways…
She got what she wanted out of A-I, a career-revival move, so bye-bye. I hope it’s not a money ploy, but with her, you never know (funny how it comes out at the same time as the Forbes list, like she would use this as “see how powerful I am!!”. I don’t think she is half as popular with the masses as she herself seems to think. But like a Kardashian, she knows how to market herself and put her name on everything, be in everyone’s face so she equates that with being the IT person du jour. Nope, when you shove yourself in everyone’s face each and every day, the public steps back and I think her career “high” since A-I is on it’s way down (whether she stays or not), people are sick of her.
Those last pictures dont even look like her – face is all swollen and puffy.
I also have never watched AI – so I dont even care that she is out. But I bet Casper cares, he might have to cut back on his spending if she no longer gets a salary! ha ha
omg I LOVE antiques roadshow.
so my fave show.
God, she looks sooo much better with lighter, more natural makeup.
I think it’s always ironic to have people who cannot sing judging a singing competition. Her voice – well – she doesn’t have one. And she doesn’t have anything interesting to say either.
Boot her!
Agree with everyone; and gg she doesn’t write her own songs; she’s not that bright; why do advertisers kow tow to her;you’re right sorella, the more ads i see of her smug greedy face staring vacantly at me, the quicker i turn the page or channel.
Either way I totally can not stand her.
She is mediocre at best, and NOT a nice person. Yes I met her
The less clothes she wears, the better she looks.
Exactly what I was thinking about that dude!! Too funny. I haven’t watched AI since Simon left – just couldn’t take all the BS and ass-kissing so I could care less what happens to the show. I’ve never disliked JLO – I think she’s talented and gorgeous. The girl knows how to exploit herself that’s for sure.
I cannot abide this woman and I will never forgive AI for making her relevant again!
I think it’s fine that she’s leaving the show. However, why announce it now? Why not let the remaining contestants have the spotlight?
She’s nothing but a fame-whoring, attention-seeking, no-talent hood rat whose not worth the money they’re paying her. Fire her (considerable) ass, AI!
I’ve never watched AI either, so I’ve only read about her antics. But AI needs to call her hand and say “Nope. No more money here.”
They probably also are not very fond of her flaunting her piece at every opportunity. AI is supposedly “family friendly,” isn’t it?
And that dress is positively atrocious!
I love it! And I cannot believe that they had her screwing her boyfriend onstage….
And paying them for it! So gross.
this does seem like a negotiation tactic to me. she would have never ranked #1 on Forbes without idol. can’t imagine she is going to walk away from this spotlight prematurely.
You’ve probably seen that guy in ads for the movie “What to Expect…” That is a poster of the movie behind her. I think the picture is the dads acting all bad-azz with their strollers.
Ugh, you can totally tell when she does her own make up. I love you girl, but please never ever EVER do your own make up again.
I don’t care aabout her or AI …what I do care about tho is casper smart..I just can’t with him anymore..he looks like a douchebag and it’s just so tacky that he works for her and she keeps shoving him in our faces ..he’s like a lapdog and God only knows why an attractive woman like j.Lo can’t give herself time to breathe in between relationships..and find a better more attractive man that is her equal..not some dancer that is so happy to shag her that he does anything she says …it’s disgusting that they work together and dance together and make videos together ..I bet he’s using her and milking this for all the exposure he can get cuz when she leaves him and she will…nobody will know who he is ..I just can’t with them anymore ..
Tapioca~I’m loving your Dorian Gray allusion. Genius.
I have to say this somewhere. I can’t believe that with all the talent on American Idol actually singing they would allow JLo to lip sing. How can she not be embarrassed. Its freaking ridiculous. Why would IDOL want any judge that does that? On that same note…Simon Cowel is following suit by hiring Britney Spears. She lip sings too. They are either performers or singers. Its a singing competition not a dancing and lip singing competition. And how funny is it that JLo is going down the same road Britney did with the boy toy dancer. We all saw how that worked out for her. As I right this Steven Tyler is singing on the results show. Yes…thats right …hes actually singing….Go Steven