19-Year-Old teen sensation Selena Gomez opened her “We Own the Night” concert tour last Thursday – and it was a huge success.
Gomez and her band “The Scene” started their tour at the Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton Florida and her boyfriend Justin Bieber was in the audience to cheer her on.
"Boca really came out tonight. . . I love you all"
And our favorite sidekick and all-around good guy videographer Alfredo Flores was there to capture all the back stage action on film.
Over the weekend Flores edited up his footage so we could see how everything went down and have a chance to see Selena with her band, crew, singers, and dancers before hitting the stage for her opening night.
Watch Backstage Footage at Selena’s Opening Night
Alfredo was an instrumental player with Justin Bieber’s “My World” tour, and has worked on several of the singer’s videos as well as his 3D movie “Never Say Never”.
And after the show, Selena's boyfriend Justin Bieber hit up the town with his best bud Sean Kingston in what would turn out to be a wild night of being chased by fans, coning in a $400,000 Rolls Royce, getting pulled over by police in front of a T.G.I.F. restaurant, and getting caught by the paparazzi on his hotel balcony - shirtless and wearing only a pair of grey boxer short underwear.
Gomez will be touring through September but will take a break to perform at the “Kids Choice Awards” August 7th with OneRepublic.
The tour will cruise through Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Pennsylvania, Toronto, Boston, St. Louis, Dallas, Kansas City, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
She can also be seen in the recently released movie “Monte Carlo” starring with Cory Monteith, Leighton Meester, and Katie Cassidy - a comedy about three young women vacationing in Paris who find themselves whisked away to Monte Carlo after one of the girls is mistaken for a British heiress.
Later this year Selena can be seen in the Disney family comedy “The Muppets” working with an all-star cast that includes Mila Kunis, Emily Blunt, Amy Adams, and Jason Segel with appearances by Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry, Jack Black, and Ricky Gervais.
Watch “The Muppets” Official Movie Trailer
“The Muppets” will be released November 23rd and tells the story of how the rag-tag group must reunite, with the help of their fans, in order to save their old studio from a greedy oil tycoon.
Congrats to Selena and her crew for a great opening night and best wishes for a fantastic tour.
Planking has become the scourge of our country and young Hollywood is taking a stand.
No really, we literally mean a “Stand” – as in standing up.
In a parody of the “More you know” public service announcements seen on TV, Funny or Die has taken to the airwaves to start an anti-planking campaign.
In the video, several young celebrities encourage us to abandon the dangerous act of “planking” and tell us to just “Stand up straight”, take a picture, and share it with the world.
We have to agree.
Planking really has ran its course and is kind of lame. But quickly following in its footsteps has been Coning and Owling.
Justin Bieber sure did have a wild time in Miami this weekend.
First, he was chased by fans while trying to leave through the back door of his girlfriend Selena’s concert in Boca Raton Florida.
Word got out that the Biebs had been backstage and was leaving when a group of young fans tried to chase him down.
Security had to escort him through a maze of bushes and shrubs as he ran to an awaiting car that whisked him away.
Justin Bieber Chased by Fans in Florida
Then, Bieber and best friend Sean Kingston were pulled over by cops in South Beach while driving a $400,000 Rolls-Royce convertible after an evening of coning and pranking.
At one point, Bieber almost hit a wall while trying to drive while holding TWO upside-down ice cream cones in his hands.
Fortunately for us they recorded the whole thing on a flip-cam!
He wrapped up his wild weekend Sunday morning by walking out onto his hotel balcony in his boxer shorts unaware there was a paparazzi photographer across the street snapping photos of the shirtless teen idol.
Bieber walked around half naked while sporting his favorite pair of sagging grey boxer shorts before returning to his suite to pack up and head to the airport.
This week, Bieber returns to the studio to continue work on his latest album “Believe” due later this year.
While little is known about his new album we do know he has been seen at the studio with Chris Brown and has hired the best song writers and producers to help him nail down his new tracks.
Anybody who has been watching the new Disney XD show “Kickin’ It” knows who 14-year-old Leo Howard is.
Leo, who has a black belt in karate and is a martial arts master in real life, has displayed his skills in the Disney Wasabi Dojo profiled in the show and has made “Kickin’ It” a smash hit for the network.
Now he is branching out into his first big screen action adventure movie while taking a starring role.
But in August we are going to see a side to Leo that Disney will never show you.
Howard is playing the young “Conan the Barbarian” in the August 19th release of the 3D action film starring Ron Pearlman, Jason Momoa as adult Conan, Rose McGowan - and Leo as Conan as a child.
“Conan the Barbarian 3D” tells the tale of a quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce warrior, but soon turns into an epic battle against enormous rivals, horrifying monsters, shirtless villains, and impossible odds.
Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.
Lionsgate has just released a new red band trailer showing Leo in his role as young Conan while taking part in an epic challenge to decide who will fight with the warriors.
It shows young Conan participating in a challenge where he has to race through the woods with and egg in his mouth, and deliver it unbroken to the final destination.
But along the way the group is ambushed by the enemy and an epic battle ensues and Leo kicks some serious butt.
There is lots of blood and gore and Leo Howard saves the group and returns to the elders with the severed heads of three bad guys – then spits the unbroken egg from his mouth!
This is the first “Conan” trailer where we really get to see Leo in action and he does impress us with both his acting ability and martial arts moves.
The kid definitely knows how to fight.
Watch Leo Howard in the Conan Red Band Trailer
Leo is no stranger to Hollywood.
He has already had roles in “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, “Shorts”, and “Logan” before snagging his role with Disney.
Howard also starred in the TV series “Zeke and Luther”, “Children of the Corn”, and “Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure”.
With a smash hit television series and now a major role in an action adventure movie we suspect Leo will be a hot property in the near future and will have directors beating down his door with job offers.
Being a teen idol seems to come naturally to the young star and he is not afraid to take the shirtless pose for teen idol magazines to keep the interest up among his young female fans.
If your kids aren’t talking about Leo Howard yet – they will be soon.
Not a lot of people in the United Sates know who Ronan Parke is.
He came in second place in the “Britain’s Got Talent” television show last year and, much like our own United States AGT runner-up Jackie Evancho, seems to be doing pretty well for himself.
Ronan, who was only 12-years-old when he competed on BGT, has already been signed to a record label and is preparing his first studio album.
During the Britain’s Got Talent competition he and Simon Cowell were accused of rigging the competition.
Parke was accused of training in secret for two years under the care of Simon – who was also accused of paying for his vocal couch and buying his cloths and sitting him with a fashion coach.
In fact, the day before the final show Cowell actually called the police to try and stop the rumors.
Watch Ronan Parke Talk about BGT Scandal
Ronan started singing when he was only three and has been taking singing lessons the last two years. After singing at a few birthday parties he decided to enter the BGT auditions.
He blew away the judges and audience, and was booked for the show and made it all the way to second place.
Watch Ronan Parke Sing on Britain's Got Talent
But now the show is over and Ronan has been in the studio after being signed by Simon Cowell’s record label.
He has also been performing live shows and has appeared at the Manchester Opera House, The True Loves Academy in London, The Edge Festival in Edinburgh, and at The Kazimier in Liverpool.
Not bad for the now 13-year-old.
His upcoming album will release on October 24, 2011 and will consist of remixes of popular cover songs.
In preparation for the new album release, Parke has been giving his fans a sneak peek at the various tracks.
One that caught our eye was an acoustic version of Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory”.
Ronan says that music is in his blood and it is all he wants to do in life. His parents are behind him 100 percent and it seems he is off to a good start.
I bet your kids have. And they either love him or hate him – but they have heard of him.
So, who is Austin Mahone? What’s his bio?
Mahone lives in San Antonia Texas and is a 15-year-old singer and musician known for looking like Justin Bieber and recording cover songs on YouTube.
So what? There are lots of kids uploading videos and singing covers these days right?
But Mahone and his fans are different.
His fans are known as Mahomies - and he has his own Blog, Facebook, YouTube, Dailybooth, Tumblr, Twitter, SoundCloud, Formspring, and Myspace accounts.
He records popular cover songs and posts them to YouTube and interacts with his fans on a daily basis and claims that Justin Bieber is his favorite artist.
And oh yea, Mahone LOOKS like Justin Bieber and his fans love him.
The thing that fascinates us about this young man is his savvy for working the social media to create a name for himself while building his own fan base from the ground up without a record label or marketing rep.
He has learned to do what many adults and big companies have failed to do – create a successful brand.
In addition to uploading covers he has hundreds of thousands of Facebook fans, dedicated fan sites, over 13 million YouTube views, and sells t-shirts, posters, wristbands, Stickers, and Necklaces.
This is the kind of interaction that defines social media.
His fans love him but he admits that he also has haters saying,
“Haterz don’t matter to me because they are just jealous and the hateful words that they say are garbage. That’s why I don't listen to hate. I am curious of what haterz have to say sometimes just because I'm a curious person. But their opinions of me don't matter to me, because I’m not trying to please them.
What is important are my fans. I love them so much and everything they do for me. Haterz can't hurt you unless you let them. And I just have one last thing to say.... Haterz gonna hate Mahomies gonna love.”
Austin’s success is a prime example of how social media can springboard you into fame, build a fan base, and possibly launch a music career if you’re good enough.
So how powerful can a homegrown fan base be to a young artist like Mahone?
One day last week his fans decided he should appear on the “Ellen Show” with Ellen DeGeneres, and in one magnificent push of social media network power trended the phrase “#MahoneOnEllen” on twitter for the day as a worldwide trending topic.
His fans also bombarded DeGeneres’s Twitter and Facebook account and called her studio’s switchboard requesting she book Austin as a guest.
Why is this significant?
Because it was Ellen DeGeneres and her “eleveneleven” record label that discovered 14-year-old Greyson Chance.
And with less effort than Austin, Greyson has been propelled into a celebrity status with his first album “Hold on ‘til the Night” due to release next week.
That kind of power by your own fans is exactly what made Justin Bieber what he is today.
One thing that helps make Mahone a fan favorite is he covers songs that are popular in today’s young music culture ranging from Cody Simpson, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Ne-yo, Usher, Adele, Chris Brown, and Edwin McCain.
So take note big record labels.
The youth of today have developed the social media skills to find, fall in love, promote, and make famous the musical artists THEY want to see and listen to - not who YOU want them to listen to.
Not that there’s not any place for “big music”, but things are changing these days and kids have grown frustrated with the “business as usual” mentality shown by the music industry.
They say that “necessity is the mother of invention”, and our kids are inventing a new way to communicate and enjoy their favorite artists and musicians.
We hope some of the adults out there are listening because these kids can teach us a thing or two about what makes them tick – and they are showing us what it is they want to listen to and who they want to fall in love with as a fan.
Time will tell if a shirtless Austin Mahone will become the next big teen idol or music sensation…
But shouldn’t we be listening to what they are trying to tell us?
What do you do when your worth $100 million dollars and bored?
You go coning!
While taking a break from working on his new album “Believe”, teen pop sensation Justin Bieber almost drove his car into a wall while coning at a local restaurant.
He also bought a Frosty from Burger King and tried to return it to a Wendy’s but was shut down by an astute manager.
And he filmed it all on his flip-cam.
Watch Justin Bieber Coning Video
As we told you last week, it seems that “Owling” is the new “Planking” but it looks like “Coning” may be taking the lead as the new social phenomenon.
The concept is simple.
Buy an ice cream cone at a drive-thru and when you grab it - you grab it upside down with the ice cream in the palm of your hand.
With a list of top song writers and A-list producers working with him everyone is excited to hear what he is laying down.
Most suspect this new album will be a radical departure from his bubble gum “Baby” days and usher in the new “Justin Timberlake” era of his career.
And keeping in line with his maturing image, Bieber and his dad just released photos of their adventure to the tattoo parlor where they both got inked with matching tats of the Hebrew word for Jesus down their left side.
And while Justin is enjoying some time off, his girlfriend Selena Gomez is back on the road with her band touring and just celebrated her 19th birthday.
Anybody who grew up during the 1970’s and 1980’s remembers the original band Journey.
Who can forget "Don't Stop Believin”, “Lights”, “Open Arms”, “Wheel in the Sky”, “Any Way You Want It”, and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin”?
And who could forget the unforgettable voice of Steve Perry?
Journey has been through a lot of transition since their inception when members from the original Santana left to create the new band.
Lead singer Steve Perry was hired in 1977 and became what most of us think about today when we think of the voice of Journey.
But today is a new day and Perry has left the group and been replaced by Pilipino lead singer Arnel Pineda.
Arnel is not the first replacement for Perry – but he is the latest.
We were excited when it was announced they would be performing on NBC’s “Today” Show - and if we close our eyes we can almost hear Perry – and remember the golden early days.
Watch the new “Journey” on the NBC Today Show
Okay, they aren’t bad – but it just doesn’t seem the same as it was in the old days.
But Journey has definitely left their mark on popular culture.
"Don't Stop Believin” was used on “The Sopranos”, and then adapted for the hit television show “Glee” and the “Family Guy”.
Watch Backstage with Journey Video on Today
The band's second album with Arnel Pineda, “Eclipse”, was released in May 2011 and debuted in the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart.
I wish I could say “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy” – but I’d be lying.
I really dislike Piers Morgan.
I didn’t like him, or even know who he was, when he appeared on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice, and I have grown to despise him as the replacement for Larry King on CNN.
By the way, “Piers Morgan Tonight” on CNN is their WORST rated show in their entire lineup.
And after his childlike behavior on the Gong Show “America’s Got Talent” I have decided there is no longer a place for Piers Morgan on American Television.
And now a British blogger has come forward saying that he has recorded proof that Morgan was involved in the “News of the Day” phone hacking scandal while he was editor.
And British Parliament member Louise Mensch has gone on record saying Pierce admitted in his book to phone hacking and has really stirred up a hornets nest against the Simon Cowell wannabe.
For his part, Piers has gone on the record that he did not condone any illegal phone hacking while editor, and simply described in his book how the hack worked.
That’s an important distinction.
Describing how a phone hack works and actually doing it are two different things.
But we don’t believe him.
And after watching him battle it out with British MP Louise Mensch live on CNN this afternoon we have decided we no longer want Morgan on television in our country, and think he needs to learn a lesson on how we treat women in our society.
We suspect that he is guilty. We suspect he hacked people’s phones. We suspect he is lying. We suspect he will deny everything. We think he is smug and cheeky. We don’t like him. We don’t like the way he treats women. We don’t like any of his TV shows. We hope the British Blogger nails him to the wall. We wish Howie Mandel hauls off and decks him. We hope Sharon Osbourne smacks him upside his head. We hope and wish he just goes away.
Thank goodness we life in a country we’re we can voice our opinion in a free and open way without the fear of going to jail or being killed.
Is it just us? Or do others dislike Piers as much as we do?
Pop sensation Justin Bieber paid his girlfriend Selena Gomez a visit yesterday for her birthday.
The 17-year-old Bieber made a surprise visit on stage during Selena’s concert in Orange County last night to help celebrate her 19th birthday.
The Bieb’s took the stage during her acoustic set and belted out Justin Timberlake’s famous breakup song “Cry Me a River”.
Selena looked totally surprised but we suspect she had a good idea that something was going to happen during the show.
Watch Justin Sing "Cry Me A River" During Gomez's Birthday Concert
The only issue we would take on the surprise visit is that “Cry Me a River” is a song about breaking up a relationship – not celebrating one.
We hope Justin doesn’t know something we don’t yet.
But we think it was a perfectly innocent birthday gesture and taken at face value is actually a very romantic thing to do for his girlfriend.
Selena is currently performing concerts on tour with her band “Selena Gomez and the Scene” and promoting her new album “When the Sun Goes Down” featuring her hit single “Who Says”.
She also is starring in the recently released movie “Monte Carlo”, a comedy about three young women vacationing in Paris who find themselves whisked away to Monte Carlo after one of the girls is mistaken for a British heiress.
Gomez can also be seen this November in the comedy “The Muppets” starring alongside Mila Kunis, Emily Blunt, Neil Patrick Harris, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, and Amy Adams.
Watch Selena Gomez in “The Muppets” Movie Trailer
Justin Bieber has just completed a month long vacation and is now back in the studio working on his new album due out later this year.
Wahlberg says neither him nor Bieber will be singing or dancing in the movie, and it will be a good chance for Justin to bring his dramatic acting skills to the table.
The movie is being produced by Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, and Bieber’s manager Scott “Scooter” Braun.
Ah, to be young and in love – and have friends in high places.
There is some sad news in the world of alternative music today.
Twenty-seven year-old singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment Saturday afternoon.
London police were called shortly after 4:00 PM and asked to assist a female who turned out to be Winehouse.
When police arrived they found the singer dead.
Witnesses told reporters that they suspect drugs and alcohol was the cause of death.
Police have not commented on a possible overdose.
Winehouse had cancelled the remainder of her European tour last month after appearing intoxicated on stage in Serbia Belgrade and was heckled by the audience.
In 2007 the singer married musician Blake Fielder-Civil, but the couple had an increasingly violent relationship. Blake was sent to prison in 2008 on charges of obstruction of justice and they divorced in 2009.
Mitch Winehouse, her father, has not commented on her death but is currently travelling to London from New York.
R.I.P and God speed Amy.
You’re in the arms of the Angels now – may you find some comfort there.
Greyson, who was discovered by Ellen DeGeneres after posting a YouTube video singing Lady Gaga, took to Vevo “Area Codes” last week to give his fans a personal video tour of his hometown Edmond Oklahoma.
His tour started inside his house where he shows us his two pianos – his childhood piano and the one that Ellen bought him.
Chance also talks about his discovery by Ellen, and shows us the very Church in Henderson Hills where he played the now famous “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga that started it all and propelled him into the limelight.
Greyson says he is an avid collector of old school vinyl records and takes about 50 of them on the road with him while on tour.
Watch Greyson Chance Hometown Tour on Area Codes
Greyson also visits the Children’s Miracle Network hospital where he makes a donation of $10,000 and talks to several patients and doctors.
He gives us a view of the Ford Center where he was asked to perform the National Anthem and says he always listens to “Escape” by Journey before he goes on stage.
Chance has a new album coming out in August called “Hold on till the Night” and has recently released a new music video for his single “Unfriend You”.
This comes on the success of his first single “Waiting Outside the Lines”.
Greyson is currently on tour with Miranda Cosgrove and Cody Simpson and frequently calls in to the Ellen show to give his fans an update on what he is doing.
It has also been announced that he will be taking a recurring role on the television series "Raising Hope" next season - his first journey into the world of TV.
Last night, ABC’s 20/20 aired a segment during their Friday night show called “Super Humans Super Powers”.
Usually, super human powers are associated with brute force and amazing physical accomplishments, but the one person we were all waiting to see was 11-year-old crossover singer Jackie Evancho.
Hailed as the girl wonder – the little girl with the big voice, Jackie Evancho spoke about her amazing rise to stardom and her passion for singing.
And yes, you can see her passion – and so can everyone else. In fact, Evancho is already getting Grammy nodes for the 2012 Awards season.
And her popularity with her fans can clearly be seen in her current album sales.
During her 20/20 interview, Jackie talked about her family life and what it feels like to be up on the stage. She talks about her life when not performing and her thoughts on why she can do what she does so well.
Doctors believe her lungs and vocal chords are just like any other 11-year-old, but what makes Evancho different is her brain.
Jackie was first discovered on the popular American television show “America’s Got Talent” two years ago, and even though she came in second place the world had seen an early glimpse of what Jackie would become.
Her debut album “Dream with me” is on track for gold and platinum status, and she has already worked with both Susan Boyle and Barbara Streisand on duets.
Her rendition of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” has become one of her signature songs and we suspect we have just heard, and seen, the beginning of young Jackie’s potential.
Watch Jackie Evancho Sing Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel”
Teaming with Grammy winner David Foster has been a tremendous success for Evancho as he seems to be able to pull out her talent while at the same time remembering she is just a young girl.
We look forward to hearing more of this amazing young artist and wish her and her family the best of success.
Jennifer Lopez' twins Emme and Max were seen arriving to LAX Airport in California on Tuesday. The twins were with Jennifer's bodyguard, assistant and friend, and her cousin Tiana to meet their mother in Atlanta after Jennifer's private performance in Ukraine. Jennifer has arrived to Atlanta and will be their over the next few weeks to film her new move, "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Thank you to our good friend Alex for the pictures of the twins at LAX.
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Jennifer Lopez is seen in ATL back at work less than a week after the announcement that she and husband Marc Anthony are divorcing. JLo was spotted in Atlanta, Georgia back to business as usual. She wore a two-piece track suit with the peace sign that had the words “Love 2 Love” written on it. Over the weekend, she put on quite a show at the wedding of an oil tycoon’s son in the Ukraine. She was rewarded with $1 million to perform the private gig and belted out her big hits, including “On the Floor.” What a pro!
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OK Mag - Jennifer Lopez’ Divorce Shocker: Marc Anthony’s Been Seeing His Ex-Wife
They once seemed to be the ideal family: gorgeous, successful superstar Jennifer Lopez weds Marc Anthony, plus their adorable 3-year-old twins, Max and Emme. But when the couple announced the end of their seven-year union on July 15, it became clear that the truth behind the A-list pairing didn’t match the public image.OK! has the inside scoop in this week’s issue!
“There have been a lot of tears,” an insider close to the couple tells OK! of the weeks leading up to the split. “It was a difficult decision for Jennifer, and she’s been putting on a brave face. She was struggling with whether she should stay and hope her marriage gets better or give up on it. It was really hard for her, but she didn’t want to be in a relationship where she wasn’t madly in love with her husband anymore.”
“J.Lo and Marc used to have incredible passion between them, and that was the glue that held them together,” says another insider. “[But lately] they had been drifting apart to more of a friendship,” says the longtime friend of the couple.
Some say that’s because Marc had a wandering eye. “I think Marc wanted to be with other women,” reveals a source close to the situation.
To make matters worse, Marc has been spending time with his ex-wife, former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres, with whom he has two sons.
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Jennifer Lopez Private Performance in Ukraine
Lopez was paid a reported $1 million to sing at the lavish wedding of the son of Azam Aslamov, a Uzbek oil tycooon. Arriving early Tuesday morning with a large entourage of dancers, backup singers and make-up artists, the American Idol judge checked into the $4,100-a-night penthouse suite of the hotel Ville Elena. After spending much of the day inside, Lopez and her crew emerged to leave for the bash and was "very pleasant" to the staff, manager Yekaterina Komarova said. "[She] greeted everyone, smiled alot," thanking the staff and signing the guest book -- and even signed autographs and took photos with fans. During her performance, an ebullient Lopez wowed the crowd. "Are you happy?" she exclaimed onstage. "I am happy, because I am here with you today!" "She is jumping back into work and being a mom [to twins Max and Emme, 3] with all her energy and she is really excited. She feels like she has grown leaps and bounds and is a new person now, better than ever," said an insider. Big thank you to our good friend Alex for the huge JLo update, thanks man.
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How Ben Affleck Helped Jennifer Lopez With Crumbling Marriage
Ben will always be in Jen's corner. - Although Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck famously called off their engagement and 18-month romance in January 2004, the actor was happy to help as his ex's 7-year marriage to Marc Anthony was falling apart.
Guadalupe Lopez, the singer-actress's mother sought Affleck's advice on July 12, multiple sources confirm in the new Us Weekly, out Wednesday. "Guadalupe reached out to Ben over email. She wanted advice for Jennifer," reveals a source. "She always liked and trusted him. [Ben] replied back on email, wished her well and offered what he could," the source says of Affleck, 38, now happily married with two daughters to Jennifer Garner. (Lopez, now 41, wed Latin crooner Anthony, 42, just months after she and Affleck split.) Three days after that secret email exchange with Affleck, Lopez and Anthony announced the end of their union in a joint statement. "It was a very bad marriage, and Jennifer got the courage to end things," an insider says, adding, "[Marc] was a terrible husband."
At issue: Anthony's raging jealousy over Lopez's career, his compulsion to control everything from her business endeavors and even her famous wardrobe, and, according to multiple sources, at least one extra-marital affair in 2009.
And despite her ultra-glamourous, ultra-confident persona in the public eye, Lopez "actually has low self-esteem," one pal explains. "And Marc really played into that insecurity. That's why she put up with his abuse for such a long time."
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Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony Fought Over Jealousy, Infidelity and Control
When they announced their split on July 15, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony revealed they had already "come to an amicable conclusion on all matters."
For those who know the couple, that statement might have been more surprising than calling an end to their seven-year marriage.
The decision to split actually came "after months of nonstop arguing," says a source close to the family. There were issues on a movie set, envy on the American Idol stage, and times that Lopez, 41, feared her husband wasn't faithful.
An Anthony insider disputes infidelity claims and maintains the 42-year-old always supported her career. "They started to see life differently," the source says.
As they move on to the next chapters of their lives, the Anthony insider also says the breakup is for the best. "Though they love, admire and respect each other very much, they just needed to be apart."
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You wouldn’t think Jennifer Lopez would be attached to a show about something as unglamorous as towing cars. But she is executive producer of truTV’s new All Worked Up-type reality show, South Beach Tow. Premiering 10 p.m. Wednesday, it stars Robert Ashenoff, the mild-mannered but efficient manager of Tremont Towing, who spends most of his working hours making car owners peeved. We caught up with the Bronx-born Ashenoff, 58, who calls Miami Beach home.
What is the biggest challenge of your job?
Probably the stigma the industry has. The bottom line is I’m contracted to do a job and unfortunately, a lot of drivers aren’t reading the signs. There are a lot of people coming over here. It’s an international playground, and a lot of times there’s no parking and they end up getting towed.
What’s it like dealing with the public?
You get a lot of people freaking out. Especially at night because they’re highly intoxicated. They don’t listen to reason. It’s their way and no other way. In real life it doesn’t go that way.
How do you deal with the abuse?
I have great patience; in this business you got to have it. I tolerate almost anything. You try to defend yourself the best you can and not get hurt.
Have you been attacked physically?
I got smacked in the face with an aluminum baseball bat way back, about 20 years ago around when the Renaissance in South Beach started. It was after one of those heavy weekends. I happen to catch the silhouette [of the bat]. That’s the last thing I can remember, really. I got stitched up and so forth. It was an unpleasant experience.
Any really strange experiences that we can expect on the show?
There was a woman who was parked in — I can’t remember if it was a loading zone or what; it was just the wrong place. We hooked her up to load her out. She was very angry, especially because she had a wedding cake in there. When she opened up the door, the cake that had been sitting there slid forward. There was icing damage. Then it got kind of complicated with her. She started pushing me, calling me a lot of names. I’ve heard them all, of course. There was nothing I could do about it. I kept telling her, ‘Ma’am, it’s not our fault you parked where you did.’
Do you like your job?
I like it at times, but it’s very testy; obviously I’ve developed a tough skin. If I didn’t, I shouldn’t be in this business. You do meet a lot of nice people, though. We are also doing good stuff. I don’t know how many times I’ve helped someone out because they’ve just broken down on the side of the road.
