--- ---  # Nicki Minaj Appears to Have a Wardrobe Malfunction at the VMAs by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Aug 25, 2014 1:32 AM UTC  Nicki Minaj, Jessie J, and Ariana Grande perform onstage during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Nicki Minaj, Jessie J, and Ariana Grande perform onstage during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California.Michael Buckner—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Aug 25, 2014 1:32 AM UTC After a lightning-fast costume change between “Anaconda” and “Bang Bang” during the [opening number](http://time.com/3170169/vmas-2014-nicki-minaj-ariana-grande-jessie-j-performance-video/) of the VMAs, Nicki Minaj walked back onstage — but something was amiss. The rapstress was clutching her little black dress closed in the middle across her chest. She maintained composure — and her iron grip on her clothes — throughout the end of the number, daintily prancing while her fellow singers Jessie J and Ariana Grande danced with the vigor of performers whose clothing was not about to pop off. View the full performance [here](http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/videos/break-free-anaconda-bang-bang-medley/1066931/#id=1729742). ### See Photos of Celebrities on the Red Carpet at the 2014 VMAs  Taylor Swift attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Jennifer Lopez attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Larry Busacca—Getty Images  Ke$ha attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Jason Merritt—Getty Images  Miley Cyrus attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Larry Busacca—Getty Images  Kelly Rowland attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images  Iggy Azalea attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Solange Knowles attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images  Singer Demi Lovato attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Jason Merritt—Getty Images  Laverne Cox attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images  Jordin Sparks and Jason Derulo attend the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Actress Julianne Hough attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California.. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Gwen Stefani attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Ed Sheeran and Sway attend the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Nicki Minaj attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images  Chloë Grace Moretz attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images  Alexandra Shipp attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Jason Merritt—Getty Images  Charli XCX attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Jason Merritt—Getty Images  Sarah Hyland attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Ariana Grande attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Jason Merritt—Getty Images  Tyler Oakley attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Jason Merritt—Getty Images  Lucy Hale attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images  Greer Grammer attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California.. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images 2014 MTV VMAs: Nicki Minaj's Apparent Wardrobe Malfunction ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3170623/vmas-2014-nicki-minaj-wardrobe-malfunction-dress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3170623/vmas-2014-nicki-minaj-wardrobe-malfunction-dress/"},"headline":"Nicki Minaj Appears to Have a Wardrobe Malfunction at the VMAs","datePublished":"2014-08-25T01:32:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:50.746Z","description":"Luckily, it didn't reach Janet Jackson-status","url":"https://time.com/3170623/vmas-2014-nicki-minaj-wardrobe-malfunction-dress/","keywords":["Television","Music","Nicki Minaj","Ariana Grande"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ea9d00ce794221f/6986a0baf983e7cea904f5bc/454101786.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ea9d00ce794221f/6986a0baf983e7cea904f5bc/454101786.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2014 MTV Video Music Awards - Show","caption":"2014 MTV Video Music Awards - Show","creditText":"Michael Buckner—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3170623/vmas-2014-nicki-minaj-wardrobe-malfunction-dress/","name":"Nicki Minaj Appears to Have a Wardrobe Malfunction at the VMAs"}}]}] ```