In one of the images in the magazine, the singer is nude. (V magazine/ Mario Testino)
Jennifer Lopez is ready to fight.
The “American Idol” judge poses in boxing gear for the new issue of V Magazine in a series of racy images shot by famed photographer Mario Testino and styled by former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld.
In the magazine’s cover shot, Lopez wears a cropped top and diaper-like groin protector, with a bedazzled jacket slung around her shoulders a la “Rocky.” The “I’m Into You” singer has her hands wrapped, and appears ready to throw a right hook.
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In another image, Lopez poses nude, covering herself with her knee and a pair of boxing gloves.
Lopez said that the shoot was highly symbolic for her.
“I’ve always felt like a tough girl from the Bronx. But I have a soft core,” she explained. “I can take a lot of punches and still keep going. I’ve been trained like a boxer to go 15 rounds.”
The punches Lopez refers to are projects that didn’t reach the heights she hoped for — for example the tepid response to her movie, “The Backup Plan.”
“You’re not going to hit the target or the bull’s-eye every time. That’s part of it,” Lopez says. “At the end of the day, I made those choices. I’ve been in the business now, I don’t want to say how many years. You have amazing moments of recognition and success. But at this point in my life, I try to take it all with a grain of salt.”
Lopez’s tough appearance in V is in high contrast to the star’s showing at the Oscars Sunday night, where she stunned in two showstopping dresses, both with deep-plunging necks that showed off her ample curves.