Jennifer Lopez Tops Forbes’ Celebrity 100 Power List, Reportedly Leaving ‘American Idol’

Becky Bain | May 16, 2012 2:54 pm

Jennifer Lopez has got the power. The singer, dancer, fashionista and reality show judge has topped Forbes‘ annual Celebrity 100 list, unseating last year’s power player, Lady Gaga. Though many other entertainers raked in more money than her — runner-up Oprah Winfrey boasts earnings of $165 million, triple of Lopez’s $52 million — Forbes compiled their rankings by looking at other factors, such as social media; TV, film and radio presence; endorsement deals; and branding. And boy, does J.Lo have a whole lot of that.

Now that Jenny is pretty much owning the block, does she even need her American Idol gig anymore? Lopez is hinting that she doesn’t, and reports are surfacing that the “Dance Again” singer is saying adios to the show.

Jennifer appeared on Ellen DeGeneres‘ daytime show with her What To Expect When You’re Expecting co-star Cameron Diaz on Tuesday (May 15). Though the two mainly promoted their movie, Lopez discussed her future on the Fox singing competition. Namely, that there might not be any.

“I really do enjoy it,” she tells Ellen. “Now this is my second year — I don’t know if I can go for a third year. I miss doing other things. It really does lock you down, which was nice the first year with the babies being three, but now they’re getting more mobile, they’re about to go into school… So I just don’t know.”

According to a report by E!’s Marc Malkin, Lopez will definitely not return for a third season on the Idol judges’ panel. “She’s just too busy,” says one source, claiming that the pop star is planning to quit.

That said, let’s not rule out the possibilty that Jennifer is publicly hinting at a departure in order for Fox to give her more money. Do you think Lopez likes knowing Britney Spears is being paid $3 million more than her for her gig on The X Factor? Nope!

If this is Jenny’s plan, we hope she isn’t afraid to call Fox’s bluff. Remember what happened to Paula Abdul? She went around being cryptic about her future with Idol, and then she got booted off the show.

Then again, if Lopez does leave Idol, it’s not like she’ll be forced to do a Bravo reality show. Did we mention she’s the most powerful celebrity in entertainment at the moment? We’re sure she’ll land on her Louboutins.