Yes, Nicki Minaj Had a Wardrobe Malfunction at the VMAs

Nicki Minaj isn’t exactly known for being a prude when it comes to her sartorial choices, but it seemed that she showed a little more skin than she intended in the big opening act for the MTV VMAs on Sunday night.

After performing a snippet from her new song, “Anaconda” in a sparkly green two-piece, the singer reappeared in a slinky black number to perform her collaborative hit, “Bang Bang” with Jessie J and Ariana Grande. And that’s when things got a little … weird.

While the actual “malfunction” was tough to spot, it was clear as Minaj was singing that she was clutching onto the front of her black dress in a way that suggested the thing had either split right open, or was never closed up in the first place. Visual evidence below (hat tip to Vulture for the GIF).

Maybe the whole split-down-the-middle effect was intentional, but judging by how dang inconvenient it looked for Minaj to have to clutch the thing throughout the “Bang Bang” number, we’d wager it was an accident.

E! reports that the singer later told reporters backstage that she and her team “ran out of time getting the dress zipped up.” (She later posted a photo from the opening act to Instagram, saying, “God is good. As long as a nipple didn’t come out to play, I’m fine.”)

To her credit, Minaj didn’t miss a beat, and held a steady grin at the close of the number—even as she struggled to keep the front of her dress closed. This, folks, is what a professional looks like.