Entertainment

It’s over for Lopez, too

Jennifer Lopez made it official yesterday — she too is out of “American Idol” next season.

The announcement — if it can be called that — was blurted out during an interview on Ryan Seacrest’s morning radio show.

“Something has to give,” said Lopez.

Lopez finally threw in the towel a day after Steven Tyler surprised Fox with his decision to quit after two years as a judge on the popular talent show.

The double elimination seemed to have caught “Idol” and the network flat-footed.

Insiders say the network had thought the will-they-or-won’t-they? talk that has been going on for the past few months was merely a negotiating ploy.

Both stars have been working on one-year contracts and, despite speculation, Fox was ready to re-sign both Lopez and Tyler.

When they both quit within 18 hours of each other, the network had to begin scrambling.

Early talks were already underway with Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson to see if they’d be willing to replace Tyler or Lopez if one or the other decided not to return, according to sources.

Both singers have made it known they’d love to work on “Idol.”

Carey, a new mother, has been looking for a spot that will let her come home at night.

And Jackson has been looking for a job that will get her back in the spotlight again without touring.

Lopez as much as admitted yesterday that she had been dodging making a definitive statement about coming back but felt she had to be direct with Seacrest.

“You know, I was really dreading this phone call with you,” she told him.

“You don’t want to shut the door completely, but the time has come.”

That leaves Randy Jackson as the only recognizable face on the judge’s panel — but he, too, has not signed a new deal and is reportedly ready to bolt.

“‘American Idol’ at the crossroads,” screamed the headline yesterday morning on an AP story.

It was a reflection of what a lot of fans were saying among themselves — that the show, the dominating pop culture phenomenon of the last decade, has been so badly wounded it might never recover.