Bennifer: That Was Them … When
Bennifer: That Was Them … When
The Friday Post.
If you missed Hung Up’s first live event, I wrote a recap here, and office magazine covered it too.
Must all good things come to an end? Bennifer, the greatest thing to ever happen1 to any of us, might really be done. On Friday afternoon, Jennifer Affleck (née Lopez, and maybe soon to be née Affleck) canceled what was left of her summer tour. The North American tour would’ve been J.Lo’s first tour in five years. “This Is Me … Live: The Greatest Hits” (pegged to the album “This Is Me … Now,” based on the movie “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story,” a sequel to the album “This Is Me … Then”2) was originally set to hit 30 cities and was announced in February. After poor ticket sales, the first seven dates of the tour were canceled in April, and it was rebranded from “This Is Me … Now” to “This Is Me … Live: The Greatest Hits.”
In her newsletter “On The J.Lo,” sent sporadically to fans, J.Lo announced the cancellation. It is a puzzling document, which both features first-person quotes from herself in addition to a vague explanation from Live Nation. “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.’” Hmm. “I am completely heartsick and devastated about letting you down,” J.Lo wrote. “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…”
I was inclined to believe that the rumors of Bennifer’s breakup were overstated. The documentary of them staring adoringly into each other’s eyes while setting $20 million of J.Lo’s own money on fire was released in February. Marriage problems seemed like a good way to get people to watch that Netflix movie she’s in with Incel Ken Simu Liu. She had an attitude at the Met Gala, sure, but Ben Affleck did appear to be hard at work filming Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems: The Accountant 2.3 But a canceled tour, particularly that pointed line from the pen of Benny Medina, no doubt, about “taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends” spells trouble. The J.Lo of “52…What It Do” know would’ve said “husband.”
A source told People the couple has “very different approaches when it comes to media attention. Ben hates all attention and it makes him very uncomfortable. Jennifer has always had a different approach.” Entertainment Tonight heard that "Ben feels like Jen has a hard time feeling satisfied, and that's one of the issues they're facing. Ben is one of the only people who feels comfortable enough to be honest and real with Jen. It's part of why Jen loves him, but also why she's upset with him." I’m not sure that I buy this entirely. I have said from the beginning that there are two ways to be Leos, the J.Lo way (loudly over-the-top at all times, high-maintenance) and the Ben Affleck way (quietly always the center of attention, high-maintenance but swears they are low-maintenance). I mean my God, he didn’t just discover her Instagram. She has been like this her whole career.
Are we at the end of the road? Honey, she shrunk the tour! I don’t want to believe it! I reject it, in Jenny from the Block’s name. A Versace green dress is flying at half staff. “Let’s Get Loud” has been reduced to a whisper. Has Ben Affleck had Enough? Will J.Lo find The Way Back? Only time and a drawer full of nude lipglosses will tell.
What the paid list got this week:
Does the line “You're just some bitch who broke my heart and cut up my mother's wedding dress” mean anything to you? We’re in the thick of wedding season, so I asked for wedding movies, shows, scenes, anything.
Many people said My Best Friend’s Wedding, but I was more inspired by some really unexpected selections: Connor’s wedding on Succession season four, the wedding scene in The Deer Hunter, Lovesick, The Birdcage, Monsoon Wedding, Peter Thomas and Cynthia Bailey’s RHOA wedding (yes that was mine), and “Hon. Mention - JLo’s whole life, career, personality.”
I cannot wait to be a woman of a certain age so I can get my federally-mandated younger hot boyfriend. Anne Hathaway got hers in The Idea of You. Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron — co-stars in the iconic Lee Daniels movie The Paperboy, the movie where she peed on him and that’s the least shocking thing that movie has on offer — are dating in Netflix’s A Family Affair. Newly single Natalie Portman was photographed with Paul Mescal:
What Variety’s Actors on Actors put together, no man shall pull asunder! These two were spotted in North London on Wednesday. A source told TMZ the pair are “just friends,” but these photos have a certain … casual easy flirtation. This is a Nancy Meyers movie. This is a Gap ad. The jeans and the tee? The loose waves? I would never smoke cigs, but oh my god this is the greatest cigarette propaganda since Mad Men. I need my sister to be outside again.
Short Cuts
Entertainment Tonight swears that Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner are “still going strong despite their busy schedules,” if you even care. A source says they are in “constant and fluid communication.” (ET)
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, the 18-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, has filed a petition to legally drop Brad Pitt’s surname. (Two of the other children, Vivienne and Zahara, have recently not used the Pitt surname publicly.) (Us Weekly) While we’re on the subject: Suri appeared to not use Tom Cruise’s surname in the billing for a school play recently. (Hello)
I have not written about this, but I remain fascinated by it: Last year Tish Cyrus4 (57), mother to Miley (31) and Noah (24) and ex-wife of Billy Ray (62), married Dominic Purcell (54). Dominic Purcell is rumored to have dated Noah before he married Tish; Noah and another Cyrus child did not attend Tish and Dominic’s wedding, because they were not invited. (Instead, they posted photos from a Wal-Mart parking lot the day of the wedding.) Now, according to Entertainment Tonight, Noah wished Tish happy birthday on Instagram but Tish did not repost the message. I kinda need a new Country Strong about this. (ET)
I did not care for the Knives Out sequel, but the third Knives Out movie is catching my attention: Glenn Close, Josh O’Connor, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, Cailee Spaeny, and Jeremy Renner have been cast. I kinda need Rian Johnson to give Lindsay Lohan a call. (ET)
I desperately need to know why Jerry Seinfeld is doing all this damn yapping. The latest bit of oversharing: he misses “dominant masculinity.” He’s about to yap his way into being asked about that time he dated a 17-year-old when he was 38. (People)
That’s all this week! Thank you for reading. And btw you can listen to the newest episode of my new podcast “Lemme Say This” here.
All individual links, yup!
And this is not even mentioning The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, the documentary.
Not the real title, but my idea of the working title.
NEED you to know that Tish Cyrus’s full name is Leticia Jean Cyrus-Purcell.
Ben is a Leo in the “I hate a flop” kind of way. He doesn’t hate that she attracts attention, he hates that she attracts negative attention and he doesn’t want that vibe around him. This is post-Gigli flop era break up again. HE WILL BE BACK.
For real is everyone forgetting Ben’s Phoenix tattoo?! That man matches her freak and is a diva too