Jennifer Lopez’s $90 million Las Vegas residency deal is reportedly ‘in jeopardy’ due to declining sales for her upcoming This Is Me… Live tour, amid furious speculation that the pop star’s marriage to Ben Affleck is in serious trouble.
In February, reports surfaced online that the 54-year-old Jenny From the Block singer was being sought for a 90-show residency at The Park MGM Theater in Sin City, for which she was reportedly offered $1 million per concert.
But now, the New York Post has claimed that the ‘deal looks shaky at best’ – with one source claiming that ‘casino executives have become skittish’ since the singer’s new album and tour ‘flopped badly’.
The source told the publication, “MGM sees how she is not doing well on the road. They are very nervous. It’s rare that you have a bad tour and then go to Vegas.”
The insider further theorized that the lack of ticket sales will likely mean she will be paid significantly less for the residency — just $600,000-$500,000 per show — and that there will be fewer concerts than the 90 shows originally planned.
Jennifer Lopez’s $90 million Las Vegas residency deal is in jeopardy due to terrible sales for her upcoming This Is Me… Live tour
Another insider added that “discussions have continued” with Jennifer and MGM, but “no deal has been signed yet.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to Jennifer’s rep and MGM for comment.
The mirror was the first to report that J.Lo was gearing up for a glittering Las Vegas residency in early February.
‘Jennifer’s All I Have Run [from 2016 to 2018] was one of the largest homes ever in Las Vegas,” a source said at the time.
“That was with Caesars Palace, but MGM has come to bring this new show to the Park Theater.
‘Discussions are ongoing with a real hope that she will be signed up and announced later this year.
“It will be a real coup for The Park and a huge deal to have one of the biggest stars in the world back in town.”
But weeks later, things started to go downhill for Jennifer when it was announced that she had canceled shows in seven cities ahead of her highly anticipated tour, which kicks off in late June.
One source theorized that the lack of ticket sales will result in her being paid significantly less for the residency: just $600,000-$500,000 per show. She was seen with Ben Affleck in February
Jennifer canceled shows in seven cities for her highly anticipated tour in March, and is struggling to sell tickets for many of the upcoming concerts. J.Lo will be on stage in 2022
She canceled all scheduled dates between August 22 and August 30 in Nashville, New Orleans, Raleigh, Atlanta, Houston, Cleveland and Tampa.
No cause or explanation for the cancellation has been given by the artist or her team.
In early April, it was revealed that the tour – which would be her first tour in five years – had been renamed from This Is Me… Now: The Tour to This Is Me… Live.
At the time, Variety reported that it would also focus more on her biggest hits rather than the music from her latest album, This Is Me… Now.
A source told DailyMail.com afterwards that the rebrand was expected to attract fans of her previous work and lure listeners who had no connection to This Is Me… Now.
The decision is said to have been partly inspired by the success of her competitors such as Taylor Swift and Madonna, who have enjoyed hugely successful tours in the past two years.
“Jennifer saw how well Taylor Swift did with the Eras Tour and Madonna with Celebration, which spans their entire career, and she hopes to deliver something that will take her fans on the journey of a lifetime,” an insider told DailyMail. excluding .com.
“This is me… This was such a healing and cathartic experience for her. She doesn’t regret it for a second.
“But now she’s looking ahead and ready to take this back to her roots and show her fans that she’s still Jenny van het Blok and always will be.”
But in early May, it seemed Jennifer was still having trouble selling tickets, as there were still seats available at multiple locations, according to the official seat maps on Ticketmaster, and resale sites scalping tickets for as little as $10.
Two weeks later, a source told DailyMail.com that organizers were keen to pull the plug on the tour to avoid embarrassment over poor sales, but the hitmaker and her manager refused.
“A few weeks ago, Live Nation met with J.Lo’s manager Benny Medina to propose canceling J.Lo’s tour and because he and J.Lo are so adamant that the show must go on, it’s going on.” , the insider said.
Earlier this month, DailyMail.com revealed that J.Lo was struggling to sell tickets for several of her tour dates, including Miami on June 29 (blue seats are the seats that were unsold as of May 3)
It was a worse state of affairs for the first night of two in Denver, Colorado, on July 22
Despite selling the majority of tickets for her first night in New York City, numbers were poor for the second night on August 17 (seen), which also serves as the tour’s closing night.
In May, a source told DailyMail.com that organizers were keen to pull the plug on the tour to avoid embarrassment over poor sales – but the hitmaker (seen performing in 2016) refused
A second source added: ‘Live Nation is very concerned about the lack of tickets sold and doesn’t want Jen to feel embarrassed when she goes out and sees empty seats in the stadiums where she will be performing.
“But Jen is too proud to cancel it, so it will be what it will be at this point. They can’t convince her to change course.’
The first insider suggested that her lack of appetite for her tour could be due to her being ‘overexposed’.
“J.Lo is overexposed and has put himself way too much in the spotlight,” they continued. “First it was her wedding, then her endless honeymoon, followed by a movie and then an album release.
“Then she felt the need to tell her and Ben’s love story in a documentary she financed called The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
“And now Benny let her go on a big tour. It’s just too much.’
Jennifer released This Is Me… Now in February, and it was accompanied by a musical film called This Is Me… Now: A Love Story and a documentary titled The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
The album debuted at number 38 on the Billboard chart, her first LP not to crack the top 20.
Ben and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity company financed the documentary, while Jennifer self-financed her film This Is Me…Now: A Love Story for $20 million.
Jennifer is also facing problems in her personal life, as rumors have recently surfaced that her marriage to Ben is on the rocks.
The two are reportedly living in separate homes for two years after tying the knot, and the actor, 51, was spotted without his wedding ring last week. However, he wore it when he stepped out on Friday.
The pair reunited for the first time in seven weeks on May 16, when they attended Ben’s child Fin’s school recital together.