On Friday, May 31, Jennifer Lopez sent me an email. Fine, she didn’t just send it to me, she sent to everyone subscribed to her On The JLo newsletter. The point of the email was to let everyone know that her concert tour, which was supposed to kick off in June and visit 30 cities in North America through August, is now canceled. Not that I was planning to attend, but I gotta say I was hecka surprised because La Lopez is known for her work ethic and dependability, not for taking time off. So what happened?
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Well, according to representatives from Live Nation, the tour was canceled for personal reasons, but—call me skeptical—I’m not buying it. I think maybe there’s some personal reasons for the cancellation, but I’d be willing to bet poor tickets sales had a lot to do with it. Also, since rumors that Jennifer and her hubby Ben Affleck are on the verge of calling it quits have been rampant, there are some that think the tour may have been canceled because of that. I’m not one of those people, but let’s unpack all of it regardless.
The announcement was simple.
I opened the On The JLo email and read: “Representatives for Live Nation announced today that the Jennifer Lopez US Summer 2024 Tour ‘THIS IS ME…LIVE’ is canceled, citing …’Jennifer is taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends.’”
There was also a personal message from Jen.
“I am completely heartsick and devastated about letting you down. Please know that I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t feel that it was absolutely necessary. I promise I will make it up to you and we will all be together again. I love you all so much. Until next time…” Jennifer wrote.
But even before this, seven dates had already been canceled.
Part of why I don’t think the canceled tour is due entirely to personal reasons is because seven of the tour’s dates had already been quietly canceled. Those cancellations happened in March and were explained as a “logistical issue through the promoter.”
The tour was originally supposed to go to 30 cities in North America from June through August. It was intended to promote her newest album This Is Me…Now, but the album, which was released on February 16, 2024, had lackluster sales on its debut week, which might explain why the tour was rebranded.
In April, the tour went from being promoted as This Is Me…Now to This Is Me…Live/The Greatest Hits perhaps in an effort to increase ticket sales, which according to Deadline had been low.
Add to that the rumors that Bennifer is not doing well.
Remember these are rumors. Neither Jen nor Ben have commented, so please take it all with a large grain or boulder of salt. OK, so ever since Jen was one of the cohosts at the Met Gala this year on May 6 and Ben did not come with her, there’s been a whole lot of speculation that their marriage is on the rocks.
Jen also did a red carpet in Mexico without Ben and that fanned the rumor flames.
I honestly don’t think it’s a big deal that Ben wasn’t with Jen while she promoted her Netflix film Atlas. He’s busy, she’s busy. It stands to reason that they won’t always be able to do every dang public appearance together.
Gossip mongers are saying it’s gotten so bad the two aren’t living together.
TMZ reported on May 16: "Ben Affleck has been staying at a home that he seems to be occupying without his wife, Jennifer Lopez—and he was spotted leaving there this morning…this amid split rumors."
Sometimes they leave together, but don't go home together.
On May 30, Jennifer accompanied Ben to his daughter Violet’s graduation party at his ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s house. Jennifer Garner is Violet’s mom. After attending the party, J.Lo dropped Ben off at the place Ben has been staying at, which is about 30 minutes away from the home he owns with J.Lo.
Is it weird that he’s staying somewhere else?
Maybe. Or maybe the place he’s staying at is closer to wherever he’s working at the moment. It’s not necessarily proof that they will never live together again.
Much ado about their air kisses has been made.
On Sunday, June 2, the couple were seen giving each other air kisses instead of making out and much has been made of it since there are rumors that they’re relationship is not doing well. The air kisses went down in Santa Monica where they met up at the local YMCA to cheer on Samuel, Ben’s son, as he played basketball.
Oh, and apparently, they didn’t hold hands either so they must be doomed. Never mind that they looked perfectly happy to be around each other and displayed no signs of tension.
If you’re wondering why they didn’t just show up at the game together, it’s because Jen was spending time with her daughter Emme. They were photographed at a Los Angeles flea market earlier.
Back to the whole concert cancellation thing.
So, while many are speculating that Jen canceled her tour because of trouble in her marriage, there are others—like me—who believe it probably has more to do with low ticket sales. But, I also believe it is possible for two things to be possible at the same time.
It’s possible she canceled the tour due to both personal and business reasons.
It's also possible the personal reasons may have nothing to do with her marriage. This couple can’t do anything without it turning into a rumor that they are breaking up. If they show too much PDA, it’s criticized. If they don’t show enough PDA, it’s also criticized.
