The Real Reasons Jennifer Lopez Quit ‘American Idol’

Getty and Heavy Jennifer Lopez.

Whether Jennifer Lopez quit being an “American Idol” judge because of the exodus of another major star is the subject of a November 18 article by Fandom.

The article questions whether Lopez quit Idol because she “loved” musical artist Steven Tyler “to death.”

Lopez did confirm in an interview with ABC News in 2012 that Tyler leaving the show “sealed the deal” for her to exit as well. However, the article says she gave a couple of other reasons in an interview with Ryan Seacrest, ABC News reported: Namely, that “her busy schedule and her desire to return to her other projects” drove the decision.

“We had magic,” Lopez told ABC News’ Amy Robach at that time. “I don’t know, with him gone, it might be a different formula.”

According to ABC, Tyler announced he was leaving first to focus on the band “Aerosmith,” after joining Lopez and Randy Jackson at the judges’ table in 2011.

Jennifer Lopez Revealed in October 2024 That Her Advisors Didn’t Want Her to Do ‘American Idol’

GettyJennifer Lopez attends the “Unstoppable” photo call.

In October 2024, Nikki Glaser asked Lopez, 55, about her time on Idol in an extensive interview for Interview Magazine.

“I read your book, so I heard the inner workings of how you decided to do American Idol. I would’ve thought, ‘Of course, she’s going to do American Idol. It’s J.Lo. We all love her. We can’t wait to see this side of her,'” Glaser told Lopez.

“But that was a risk for you. You had never really shown the side of yourself that wasn’t scripted or completely rehearsed. You were up all night the night before it happened, and I loved reading that, how nervous you were, because you always seem so poised and in control. Do you like to put yourself in situations that are risky? Does that drive you?” she said.

“I don’t do things just because I like danger. That’s a different type of person, I think,” Lopez responded.

“I’ll do things that could be risky because I believe that they’re going to turn out okay. I’d done all these big movies and made these albums and now they’re asking me to do reality TV,” she added. “I’ve had kids and I haven’t worked for a couple of years. American Idol was a big show at the time. It really comes down to, what do I think I can bring to something? When all of my advisors were like, ‘Don’t do this, you’re going to be reduced to just a reality star.'”

Jennifer Lopez Decided to Do ‘American Idol’ Because She Loves Music & Mentorship, the Report Says

GettyJennifer Lopez.

In the interview with Glaser, Lopez explained why she decided to do the reality show.

“It was looked down upon. ‘Don’t do that or nobody will ever hire you for a movie ever again.’ And I was just like, ‘No. I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. I think I have something to contribute.’ I love music and I love mentoring people, and I wanted to share the things that I knew about the business,” she told Interview Magazine.

“So it became more about, ‘What do I think I can do with this?’ When I’m choosing things, even if they seem like not the best idea to everybody else, if I feel it in my gut that it’s the right thing to do, nobody can talk me out of it. It’s the same thing when I went to Vegas. They were like, “That’s where entertainers go to die.” And I was like, “No.” And it launched me into a whole new part of my life,” she said.