14 DAY TRIAL // With her busy music career and her efforts to break into film as a solid actress, not to mention being a single mom, Jennifer Lopez certainly has a lot on her plate. As such, it's not that much of a wonder that she's thinking of not returning to American Idol for a third season.
A source confirms for US Weekly that Jennifer feels the time is right to move on with her career and to take up other projects.
Obviously, she can't do that if she's tied down to AI which takes up a lot of her time, so it's natural to sever ties with the show.
“There is just too much going on for her right now,” an unnamed source says for the celebrity publication.
Something's got to give, and Jennifer believes Idol is the only project she's working on she can drop.
“She regrets she can't stay on the show. It's been an incredible experience and she is forever grateful that she did it,” the insider further says.
The other day, Jennifer and her “What to Expect When You're Expecting” co-star Cameron Diaz were on The Ellen DeGeneres show and, as we also noted at the time, the question of coming back on Idol for a new season did come up.
Jennifer said pretty much what the spy mentioned above: she had a lot of things to juggle and didn't know whether she'd have the time for another season of Idol; and she felt as it the time was right to move on.
“I don't know if I can go for a third year. I miss doing other things. It really does lock you down,” she said.
American Idol bosses, though, are dying to have her resume judging duties come next season, as Nigel Lythgoe tells TMZ.
“We want her back. I want her back. I know how much she loves doing the show and how much she cares for the kids. It's a business. She has to weigh everything. I know she's gotten lots of offers to do movies and other things,” he says.
He's also confident that, by saying these things to throw people off, Jennifer Lopez is just playing the classic negotiations game.