Jennifer Lopez Tells The Story Of Why She Wore That Iconic Green Versace Dress To The Grammys

Jennifer Lopez caused what seemed like a seismic shift in pop culture when she wore a green jungle print chiffon gown to the Grammys in the year 2000. The dress had a neckline that plunged beyond her belly button and a slit so high that it revealed every inch of her gleaming caramel brown legs as she walked. The dress was such a stunner that she received a standing ovation when she appeared on stage that night and she was there to simply present the first award of the night alongside an awestruck David Duchovny.

In a new video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Lopez finally reveals the story behind her choice to wear the dress that night. The award ceremony was happening at a very busy time in the singer-actress’ life. She was filming The Wedding Planner at the time, so her stylist had not been able to schedule lots of fittings ahead of the Grammys. So mere hours before the music industry’s biggest night, she tried on the Versace dress, one of two options.

According to Lopez, her stylist at the time, Andrea Lieberman, was concerned about the fact that the Versace dress had been worn before by other celebrities, but as soon as Lopez put it on her manager, Benny Medina, said the conversation was over, she’d be wearing that dress.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Lopez later recalled that Google has since revealed that they created their image search function because lots of people were searching for photos of her in the dress. But, although it’s hard to believe today, those photos weren’t that easy to obtain on the internet 19 years ago.

“At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen,” wrote Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt in an essay for Project Syndicate, as reported by Business Insider. “But we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: J.Lo wearing that dress.”

So, Jennifer Lopez is a part of tech history.

“I’m just wondering, where’s my check?” Lopez quips during the video.

As The Independent reports, the singer-actress is about to receive a major fashion award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). She will receive their Fashion Icon Award, a prestigious honor in the fashion world previously won by Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and Beyonce, among others.

It’s a fitting accolade for Lopez, whose career in the spotlight has shown how powerful fashion can be.