Celebs Who Gracefully Handled Wardrobe Malfunctions

Janet Jackson's nip slip during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show is probably one of the more infamous wardrobe malfunctions in pop culture history. During the halftime show, Jackson performed as a headliner, with Justin Timberlake as a guest performer. The performance ended in infamy when Timberlake ripped off Jackson's top at the end of their performance, exposing one of her breasts on live television, with approximately 140 million viewers watching. This event would later be known as "nipplegate," and caused quite the stir and controversy in the media. 

Though the incident resulted in a lot of criticism and scrutiny towards both Jackson and Timberlake, Jackson did issue a public apology. "I am truly sorry if I offended anyone. That was not my intention," Jackson remarked in a video that aired the same year as the infamous broadcast. The FCC would later go on to fine CBS half a million dollars for the incident; which was later dismissed by The Justice Department in 2012. But in any case, while an event like this be traumatic and embarrassing — especially given the scale of the visibility of the event — Jackson remained a consummate professional and addressed the issue, rather than hiding away or pretending it never happened. Nearly two decades later, Timberlake apologized publicly or his role in the wardrobe malfunction. 

The MET Gala has become known for its daring fashion; many celebrities use it as an opportunity to experiment with choices they'd never make on a traditional Oscars or Grammy red carpet. In 2023, The MET Gala's theme was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, in honor of the controversial Chanel designer. For the occasion, Kim Kardashian wore a dress by Schiaparelli, which featured 50,000 pearls. The dress was allegedly very delicate, and though it looked striking on Kardashian, it was so fragile that her movements caused some of the pearls to fall off of her dress. However, if you look at the photos of her on the carpet, you would never know that this was happening, ass she looks confident and poised. Kardashian later spoke about the fashion mishap to Vogue and explained, "Some [pearls] popped on the way, and I told my daughter to grab them all. They're real pearls and she was putting them all in her purse." 

Members of the Royal Family are usually associated with poise, decorum, and just generally being put-together. Of course, this idea and image likely can't be true one hundred percent of the time, as they are people, just like us. The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton proved this to be true in 2017 when she and The Prince of Wales attended a St. Patrick's Day parade. Whilst there, Middleton's high heel became stuck in a grate, which made for a light-hearted and humorous photo-op with a "Stars—they're just like us!" vibe. Fortunately, the incident didn't cause an injury to the Princess, who was pregnant at the time, and the couple were able to laugh about what happened and carry on with their royal duties once her heel was released from the grate. 

Sometimes attending red carpet events is about getting dressed up and taking fashion risks. In the case of Chrissy Teigen, one particular fashion risk that she took was perhaps a little too risky. In 2016, Teigen, the model and television host, attended the American Music Awards with her husband John Legend. She wore a stunning dress by designer Yousef Akbar. The dress featured two extreme slits on either side of the dress that looked to end above her navel, and were held together by golden safety pins. 

As Teigen walked the red carpet, her movements shifted the dress, exposing the fact that she was not wearing undergarments. Of course, in true, Chrissy Teigen fashion, she took to social media to acknowledge and poke fun at her wardrobe malfunction, posting a photo of her in the dress with a tongue-in-cheek caption, complete with an apology to "anyone harmed mentally or physically by [her] hooha" and a shout out to a hair removal clinic. 

While we all know that celebrities are also just people, and no less susceptible to embarrassing mishaps than the rest of us—to some, Beyonce might seem super-human in the way she presents herself as a performer, an artist, and a person. However, even the icon Beyonce isn't immune to things like wardrobe malfunctions.

During her "Renaissance World Tour," one of Beyonce's backup dancers brought new meaning to their titles when they helped her avoid a full-blown wardrobe malfunction on stage. During a performance of "Break My Soul," one of the Les Twins (Beyonce's backup dancers), noticed that the top of Beyonce's dress had shifted, potentially exposing her in front of an entire arena full of fans. Thankfully, the quick-thinking dancer jumped in front of the singer, and placed her hand on the dress to signal that she needed to fix it. In a video depicting the moment, Beyonce can be seen quickly adjusting the front strap while dancing and singing. A wardrobe malfunction was avoided and there was no interruption of Beyonce's performance, showing once again, her talent and professionalism as a performer.  

In 2010, actress Katherine Heigl attended the ShoWest Awards. There, she was presented with the award for Best Female Star of the Year. While earning this accolade should have been a happy and proud moment for Heigl, a wardrobe malfucntion nearly overshadowed her win. As Heigl was accepting her award, the straps of her dress suddenly broke, and she had no choice but to give her acceptance speech while holding her dress close to her body to avoid any further mishaps. With the help of host Billy Bush, who held her dress up for her, Heigl was able to continue with her acceptance speech and was spared further embarrassment. She was also still able to revel in the moment of winning an award, since she was able to carry on despite nearly accidentally bearing all on stage, amongst her peers and fans alike. 

In 2021, singer Charlie XCX re-recorded footage of herself presenting an ARIA Award, for the virtual, televised ceremony. For the occasion, the musician wore a dramatic deep v neck bodysuit that cut down past the navel. While the look was top-tier, it seems a bit of fashion tape would have helped. Just as she finished her presentation, one of the straps of her dress fell to reveal her breast. Although she was quick to fix her dress, it was not quite quick enough to avoid the malfunction all together. Still she laughed it off and the show went on as planned.

Though the footage of her wardrobe malfunction wasn't aired on television, Charlie XCX took it upon herself to make fun of the mishap and share the full video on her social media channels. Though wardrobe malfunctions can be embarrassing, choosing to react and respond with indifference and humor often seems to be the best strategy to distract, and ultimately redirect the narrative that is used when people inevitably talk about what happened. It goes to show that even in moments where you may not feel like you're in control, you can still navigate a potentially negative situation and turn it into a positive one.

Most 19-year-olds might have some level on anxiety about having to go through embarrassing situations in their life. However, not everyone has to experience said embarrassing situation in front of a global audience. Additionally, most people are not made to relive and describe such incidents on television either. Unfortunately, in actress Emma Watson's case, she had to do both. In 2009, during the premiere of one "Harry Potter" films, Watson accidentally exposed her underwear while fixing the bottom half of her dress. The incident was brief (no pun intended), but photos immortalized the moment. 

Watson would later be interviewed by David Letterman about the embarrassing fashion mishap, who presented her a photo of the incident and asked her to recount what happened. Though Watson remained gracious about the whole thing, instead of indulging in the conversation any further, she simply said, "At least I'm wearing underwear." Dismissed.