A look at the claims, predictions and behavior of a media "psychic".
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A look at the claims, predictions and behavior of a media "psychic".
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Sylvia Browne's Predictions: Jennifer Lopez
How well has she done predicting events in J-Lo's life?
Published: Feb 27, 2008 | Last updated Feb 28, 2008
Written by: Robert S. Lancaster 
Jennifer Lopez BackgroundOver the past several months, as news was making the rounds that Jennifer Lopez was pregnant with twins, I have received quite a few emails urging me to write an article regarding Browne's prediction that Jennifer Lopez could not (or would not) have children. Now that Lopez has given birth to a healthy baby girl and baby boy, I decided to expand the idea, and examine all of the predictions Browne has made about "J-Lo" over the past several years. Predictions For 2003
Lopez with Ben Affleck Montel Williams ShowOn December 31 2002, the annual "Sylvia Browne Predictions" episode of The Montel Williams Show was broadcast. In it, Williams asked Browne about several celebrities, which resulted in the following exchange (emphasis mine):
How She DidWRONG Lopez and Affleck's engagement had been announced in November of 2002, so no, it did not "take a psychic" to predict that they would get married. However, the marriage, planned for September of 2003, was called off. Predictions For 2004Montel Williams ShowThe annual predictions show for 2004 was broadcast on December 31 2003, and contained the following exchange (emphasis mine):
NewsletterIn the January/February 2004 edition of the Sylvia Browne Newsletter (A Hay House publication), in an article titled "Sylvia's Predictions For 2004", the following is found in the "Celebrities" section (emphasis mine):
How She DidRIGHT But this was fairly well known. Lopez and Affleck had been on the outs since the incident which had caused the cancellation of their marriage back in September 2003, and indeed they announced that their split was permanent in January 2004. Note also that this is a fairly half-hearted prediction. She says they won't get married, then hedges her bet by saying that "if they do..." it won't last. And why the change between "it won't last six months" and "it will only last seven months"? Also of note is the fact that Lopez married Marc Anthony in June of 2004, and yet Browne did not predict this. Predictions For 2005
Lopez with Marc Anthony Montel Williams ShowBroadcast on December 29 2004, this year's show included some bragging about her "accuracy" from the previous year (emphasis mine):
NewsletterIn the January/February 2005 edition of the Sylvia Browne Newsletter, in an article titled "Sylvia's Predictions For 2005", the following is found in the "Celebrities" section:
How She DidWRONG Williams' statement "I hear she's breaking up with the other one" was in reference to Marc Anthony, whom Lopez had married months before the taping of this show. Browne assured him that yes, Lopez and Anthony would break up. Both that, and her statement in the newsletter that Lopez's marriage "will hit the rocks" were incorrect. Lopez and Anthony are still married as of this writing (February 2008). Predictions For 2006Montel Williams ShowThe annual prediction show was broadcast on Dec 30 2005, but Browne made no predictions regarding Lopez. Also, no mention was made about her incorrect prediction about Lopez in the previous year's show. NewsletterIn the January/February 2006 edition of the Sylvia Browne Newsletter, in an article titled "Sylvia's Predictions For 2006", the following is found in the "Celebrities" section:
How She DidWRONG The first statement in the newsletter, that Lopez "will have health problems if she doesn't take care of herself," is hardly a prediction at all. It is a statement which could accurately be said of everyone on the planet, every year. It is also a typical two-sided statement: If Lopez had gotten ill (which was not reported), Browne could claim this was a "hit" (a correct prediction). But if Lopez did not become ill, Browne could say "well, she took care of herself", and still claim it as a "hit." As for the second statement - that Lopez would get pregnant - I find no reports of her being pregnant in 2006. However, the following year... Predictions For 2007
A Very Pregnant Lopez with Husband Marc Anthony Montel Williams ShowBroadcast on December 27 2006, the annual prediction show for 2007 contained the following exchange (emphasis mine):
Montel Williams ShowIn the January/February 2007 edition of the Sylvia Browne Newsletter, in an article titled "Sylvia's Predictions For 2007", the following is found in the "Celebrities" section:
How She DidWRONG While Lopez did not have a baby in 2007, Browne's prediction that Lopez "can't or won't" have a child was proven dramatically wrong when Lopez became pregnant with twins in 2007. And why the change from the previous year's prediction that Lopez would become pregnant? As for her prediction that there would be "trouble" in Lopez and Anthony's wedding, no such trouble was reported, and indeed, the two of them collaborated on an album and co-headlined a world tour together. Predictions For 2008
News of Jennifer Lopez Giving Birth to Twins Montel Williams ShowThe annual prediction show was broadcast on Dec 31 2007, but again, Browne made no predictions regarding Lopez. And again, no mention was made about her incorrect prediction about Lopez in the previous year's show. NewsletterI do not have a copy of the Jan/Feb 2008 newsletter, so I do not know if it contained any mention of Lopez. Update: The Jan/Feb 2008 newsletter contains no predictions regarding Lopez. However, it does contain an article titled "Sylvia Scores on Past Predictions," which shows predictions from past years which they claim that Browne got right. And as hard as it might be to believe, the article contains the following (emphasis mine):
So, just to make this clear, here is the sequence of events:
In short, Browne's people took two incorrect predictions and tried to spin them as a correct one. How She DidNO PREDICTIONS KNOWN AnalysisSo, how did Sylvia Browne do overall in her predictions regarding the life of Jennifer Lopez? Let's take a look at how it all adds up:
So, out of five year's worth of known predictions, Browne got her prediction right in only one of those years, and that was simply that Lopez and Affleck, already known to be "on the outs," would not marry. And she even qualified it with "and if they do...". One out of five. Twenty percent. Yet again, far below Browne's claimed accuracy rate of 87%, which has yet to be reflected in any analysis I have done or seen regarding any of her predictions. ConclusionSince the birth of the twins, I have received more than a dozen emails from people anxious to tell me of this dramatic example of Browne's failed predictions. But, as this article shows, it is just the latest in a string of failed predictions Browne has made about Ms. Lopez. And this is typical of her track record with predictions on other subjects, such as:
Any way you look at it, Browne's abysmal track record does not in any way support her claim to have "psychic powers." My thanks to all the email correspondents who made sure I knew about Jennifer Lopez's pregnancy. And my congratulations and best wishes to proud parents Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony on the occasion of their growing family. Related LinksClicking on any of these links will load a separate browser window for viewing the linked page. StopSylviaBrowne.com is not responsible for the content of any of these linked pages.
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