Is Jennifer Lopez Really Leaving American Idol, Or Negotiating A Higher Fee?
This is today’s question, as outlets report on Jennifer Lopez’s interview with Ellen DeGeneres during which Lopez said she would probably not return to American Idol for her third season. Shocking? Hardly.
This is from page one of the Basic Negotiating Playbook. It’s the same page she was on pulling this stunt in 2011, prior to securing her second season. It worked then, with the flexibility of her one-year contracts. She landed a reported $12 million payday for her first season of Idol, and up to a reported $20 million for season two (the latter figure is disputed, with TMZ.com claiming it’s far less than that).
Approaching her third season, however, Lopez’s motives for distancing herself from the show are less-clear: she’s getting divorced, she’s in love with a younger man, Casper Smart, 25, she has elevated and invigorated her career using the free-publicity from the show, she’s used Idol to perform multiple songs from her current album, and judging puts her face back in front of an audience who had forsaken her when she was dropped from her record label. She got what she wanted, using Idol as her platform, she got her formerly-flagging career back. And now she’s hip-deep in movies, and endorsements, and she’s about to tour worldwide with Enrique Iglesias for, at least, the rest of this year (the next Idol auditions begin while she’s overseas).
Now, the question is: does she need the show, or does the show need her?
Ryan Seacrest’s media tentacle E! Online says she’s probably out. So she’s out. But why?
E! sources say: “She’s just too busy.”Another source says: “Fox does not want to let her go. They love her.” An Us Weekly source says: “She regrets she can’t stay on the show. It’s been an incredible experience and she is forever grateful that she did it.” Which is believable. Although none of it jives with tabloid reports about her being pushed out of the show because of sinking ratings, and Idol producers being keen to “reconfigure” the production.
Included is Lopez’s swimsuit photo shoot with Mario Testino for Vogue Magazine June 2012.
PHOTO CREDIT – VOGUE MAGAZINE
