Is Jennifer Lopez afraid to return to New York?

SOUND BITES Did terror fears cause Jennifer Lopez to chicken out of a New York promotional appearance? Her ”J. Lo by Jennifer Lopez” clothing line launched last Thursday at Macy’s, but the singer/actress was nowhere in sight. Her spokesman said she’s still on her honeymoon, but the New York Post quoted a Macy’s employee as saying, ”Jennifer was scheduled to show up through her commitment to Macy’s” and another source who claimed she’d moved the launch up a week from its initial Nov. 1 date so she could use the honeymoon excuse. A spokesman for the clothing line, however, denied she had ever planned to appear at the store. In fact, Lopez hasn’t been back in her hometown since the Sept. 11 attacks, but her spokesman told the Post, ”No one has asked her to come, but she has no problem with coming to New York if it is warranted.”

Another J. Lo report questions the depth of her charitable feeling, as demonstrated at the recent recording session for the fundraising single version of Marvin Gaye‘s ”What’s Going On.” Accompanying the likes of Bono and Fred Durst, Lopez attended the session for just 90 minutes but had a long list of demands in her contract rider, which is on view at The Smoking Gun. Among the must-haves: a 45-foot trailer, equipped with a TV, VCR, and a CD player stocked with Macy Gray, D’Angelo, and Toni Braxton discs; a white dressing room with white flowers, white drapes, white candles, and white furniture; and a huge selection of desserts, juices, and fruits, all of which went untouched by J. Lo and her entourage. Love don’t cost a thing, but being a star is expensive….

More diva-ish behavior came from Courtney Love, test-driving her new band Bastard in two Los Angeles-area gigs last weekend. Friday, in Ventura, Calif., she tore into Limp Bizkit‘s Durst, saying, ”I’m going to f—ing kick him out of your a–!” she announced. ”I’m so f—ing sick of him playing golf with all the f—ing [record] executives. We’re going to show him what ’60s punk rock is.” She also sang a song inspired by Julian Casablancas, frontman for newly popular New York punk band The Strokes.

Saturday, at the Hollywood Bowl, she opened for Jane’s Addiction, but she ran past her allotted time. She refused to leave, holding on to an acoustic guitar even after the lights and sound were shut off. She blamed Jane’s frontman Perry Farrell, telling the New York Post, ”Perry really screwed me, but I don’t want to give him the pleasure of a feud.” She claims she had been granted an hour, not the 35 minutes she ended up playing, but a Jane’s spokesperson said she started late, and the show had to be over by 11 because of local noise ordinances. Love was so insistent because she wanted to audition her new music for the record execs in the audience. She grabbed one label president, pulled him into a backstage bathroom, and played the two songs she didn’t get to perform on stage.