Every celebrity is bound to have a wardrobe malfunction at one time or another. But some stars have had them on such a massive scale that they’ve gone down in infamy.
The term “wardrobe malfunction” wasn’t even in the American vernacular until early 2004, when Justin Timberlake used it to refer to how he tore at Janet Jackson‘s right breast pocket of her costume during the Super Bowl XXXVIII half time performance. A live TV viewing audience of nearly 100 million people witnessed the incident where her bare breast was exposed.
As they ended the set to a duet of Justin’s “Rock Your Body,” the costume’s fabric came flying off as Justin tore it away from Janet’s outfit, exposing her bare right breast and pierced nipple on live television. It occurred as he sang the lyrics “better have you naked by the end of this song.”
Justin coined the infamous term in his statement to MTV News, saying, “I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance at the Super Bowl. It was not intentional and is regrettable.” While both singers apologized, Janet faced the fallout. She was banned from attending the 2004 Grammys, and the aftermath from the incident negatively affected her career for years to follow.
Actress Tara Reid had an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction in 2004 when she attended Diddy’s 35th birthday in New York. While posing on the red carpet, the strap of her black satin dress fell down, completely exposing her left breast. Tara kept smiling for the cameras, unaware to the accidental peep show she was giving.
To make matters worse, Tara had a botched breast enhancement, which was revealed by the wardrobe malfunction. “That was terrible,” The American Pie star told The Today Show in 2006 of the incident. “I became known as having the ugliest breast in the world. It was all over these web sites. Millions of them.”
“I was already dealing with what it looked like. The last thing I wanted to happen was to have the whole world see it,” she said. “The actual center part, where the areola is, instead of being a circle, it turned out to be a large square. It was horrifying.” Tara added, “It was very irregular like a goose shape egg. It was terrible.”
Stars have had wardrobe malfunctions down below as well. Fortunately, supermodel Bella Hadid wears underwear, and it ended up on display when she bent over to greet someone on the red carpet at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. The slit in her dress was past her hip and just the slight bending at her waist flashed her nude-colored undies. At least, she didn’t go commando that day!
Scroll down for photos of the most epic celebrity wardrobe malfunctions.