TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

JENNIFER Lopez wasn’t an Oscar nominee at Sunday’s Academy Awards, but the diva arguably stole the show in a seriously revealing Zuhair Murad dress with sheer panels and a plunging neckline.

Although her stylist slammed furious web speculation that Lopez, 42, suffered a televised wardrobe malfunction in the frock, the singer, actress and American Idol judge was definitely making a statement — but to whom? During her seven-year marriage to Anthony, 43, Lopez’s super-sexy style was a point of contention, insiders previously told Us Weekly.

“He would make her feel terrible about herself if she wanted to wear something sexy,” a source said. “He likes her to dress in a demure, ‘wife’ style. He hated the fact that she was a sex symbol.” In fact, at a 2010 cover shoot for Us Weekly, the often-controlling Anthony objected to one revealing picture of his wife which he found “too sexy and unbecoming for a 40-yearold mother of t w o , ” a n o t h e r s o u r c e s a i d .

That’s clearly not so much a p r o b l e m with backup dancer Casper Smart, Lopez’s 24-yearold beau of about three months.

After Lopez’s headline making appearance onstage with Cameron Diaz, Smart was her date at Vanity Fair’s Oscars afterparty on Sunday evening.