Jennifer Lopez’s team advised her not to join American Idol as it would reduce her ‘to just a reality star’

Jennifer Lopez’s team was not keen on the idea of the star joining American Idol.

Lopez, 55, served as a judge on the show during seasons 10 to 11 and 13 to 15, but she said her team initially advised her against working on the talent competition.

The star revealed that her advisors worried she would be ‘reduced to just a reality star’ in her new Interview magazine feature, where she spoke with comedian Nikki Glaser.

The actress — who broke her silence on her split with Ben Affleck, 52, elsewhere in the interview — shared her team warned her, ‘nobody will ever hire you for a movie ever again.’

Lopez explained her reasoning behind joining the show, telling Glaser: ‘I’ll do things that could be risky because I believe that they’re going to turn out OK.’

Lopez explained that, at the time, doing American Idol or any other reality shows ‘was looked down upon.’

‘I’d done all these big movies and made these albums and now they’re asking me to do reality TV. I’ve had kids and I haven’t worked for a couple of years,’ the Hustlers star said, referring to her twins, Emme and Max, 16, whom she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony, 56.

‘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.”‘

‘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. So it became more about, “What do I think I can do with this?”‘

The Love Don’t Cost a Thing hitmaker added that she has since trusted her instinct while making business decisions, and it has worked in her favor.

‘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,’ she said, referring to her residency, which kicked off in 2016.

‘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.’

Lopez was an American Idol judge for two consecutive seasons, starting with season 10. After a brief hiatus, she rejoined the show for three more seasons.

She was a judge alongside Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler, and later Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr.

It marked a career revival for the star, who released the chart-topping song ‘On the Floor’ and also landed a role in the crime drama ‘Shades of Blue’ during her time on the show.

American Idol now airs on ABC. The upcoming season, scheduled for early 2025, will feature Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood, who has replaced Katy Perry, as judges.

Elsewhere Lopez also opened up about her split from estranged husband Ben, after two years of marriage.

The star, who posed in a sexy leopard print outfit for the cover of Interview magazine published Wednesday, described her turmoil as being ‘sad’ and ‘scary.’

Going topless in the accompanying risqué shoot, Jennifer talked to comedian Nikki Glaser about her life ‘blowing up’ in her face this year and the life lessons she still has to learn, although she was careful not to mention Ben by name.

Ben and Jennifer – affectionally dubbed ‘Bennifer’ – split in April and she filed for divorce on August 20, which was also their two-year wedding anniversary.

The star hinted that she needed to be alone again after leaving Ben: ‘You have to be healthy. You have to be complete, if you want something that’s more complete.’

‘You have to be good on your own. I thought I learned that, but I didn’t. And then, this summer, I had to be like, “I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that.”‘

But the entertainer has no regrets: ‘Not one second. That doesn’t mean it didn’t almost take me out for good. It almost did.’

Jennifer also said during her in-depth interview – for the publication’s 55th anniversary special – that she is not hoping to date someone else at the moment: ‘I’m not looking for anybody.’

When Nikki asked if the breakup was ‘hard,’ JLo replied: ‘Yes, it’s f***ing hard!’

And she feels sad.

‘It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary. It feels sad. It feels desperate,’ noted the Can’t Get Enough singer.

‘But when you sit in those feelings and go, “These things are not going to kill me,” it’s like actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself. Being in a relationship doesn’t define me. I can’t be looking for happiness in other people. I have to have happiness within myself. I used to say I’m a happy person, but was still looking for something for somebody else to fill, and it’s just like, “No, I’m actually good.”’