ON THE FLOOR
Lopez faced intensifying divorce rumors, a critically panned film, and viral cringe moments from her press tour before ending the week by canceling her upcoming tour.
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Jennifer Lopez has had quite a week. The singer and actress has battled more than a few demons both personal and professional in the past seven days or so—and the tense looks in the photos that have emerged from her comings and goings have only highlighted what a tough week it must have been for the star.
Between the intensifying spread of rumors she’d split with rekindled flame Ben Affleck, which would have to be unpleasant to see whether true or untrue, a press tour in which the internet made her the butt of a joke more than once, a critically-panned film, and the recent cancellation of her nationwide tour that many have speculated was due to low ticket sales, Lopez is looking like a bit like a wounded warrior in recent photos.
‘Atlas’ press tour last weekend became meme fodder this week
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As her home life presumably spins on in turmoil, clips from press for Lopez’s Atlas movie became meme fodder. One Twitter favorite moment was when Lopez and her castmates Simu Liiu and Sterling K. Brown were asked about their favorite comfort foods. As Lopez expressed her fondness for rice and beans, since “I’m Puerto Rican,” Brown’s response was interpreted as annoyance as he asked, “Are you Puerto Rican? Get out of here. Arroz, frijoles, a me gusta French toast.”
The meme-ification of the weird moment began almost immediately, and spilled over into other J.Lo news of the week.
Prior to that, viewers amused themselves with Liu and Lopez’s response to a reporter question about her relationship with Affleck, where Lopez told said reporter, “You know better than that.”
The movie itself? A big flop
Atlas, though touted by Netflix as its most-watched movies over Memorial Day weekend, was panned by critics—who called the acting “iffy” and the overall production “misguided.”
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As people speculated that her ticket sales weren’t moving.
While X users questioned how many people had actually watched Atlas, Lopez’s music profitability was called into question as well, as rumors of low ticket sales for her upcoming nationwide tour This Is Me Now were in the toilet.
A source told Page Six on Tuesday that the inability for the show to attract ticketers was jeopardizing the star’s talks for a Las Vegas residency for which she’d be paid $1 million a show. She’d already canceled several tour dates and attempted to rebrand the show earlier this year.
Jason Armond
Split rumors grew, even as the couple put on an about-face
Days after initial reports emerged that Affleck had “moved out” and the couple was heading for a split, new details about the issues behind the cause were reported this week, with an insider telling Fox News that the two “have fought about their differences on what they give their kids and how to raise them at times,” and that “Ben doesn't seem as invested in trying to repair the relationship as he was before.”
After going more than a month of not being spotted together, Lopez and Affleck stepped out with hands clasped to support the latter’s daughter at a graduation shin-dig on Thursday, as news of their rumored split continued to fester. TMZ was quick to point out that despite holding hands, the couple was not “all over each other,” as one might expect from two people who just got married two years ago.
Cancels her tour on Friday
On Friday, the week ended on an even worse note than it began for Lopez, as she announced that her upcoming tour was canceled. Telling fans she was “completely heartsick” to be making the announcement, Lopez added through her reps that she was taking “time off to be with her children, family and close friends” which seemingly supported previous reporting that she needed time to be with family to cope with the rumored Affleck breakup.
A little reprieve
TMZ reported that the star was spotted looking glum at the end of the week. That said, a potential bright spot of news did come out of J.Lo’s week, as Page Six reported that the singer reconnected with ex-bestie Leah Remini. According to the site, the two fell out after Remini expressed her concerns about Lopez marrying Affleck in 2022 and was not invited to be at the ceremony, unlike Affleck’s BFF Matt Damon. This week, the site reported that the two have resumed their relationship.
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Based on the week that J.Lo had, it’s probably best to have as many good friends around as possible.
