We’re all familiar with the term “wardrobe malfunction”, the most famous one being the Super Bowl halftime show with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. We’re not sure exactly if that’s when the term was coined or if it existed before, but it’s funny how that term sounds so neutral and technical, borderline innocent, yet we all know that what follows is pretty embarrassing.
What’s more shocking is the sheer number of these encounters on live television. It’s hard to fathom how it keeps happening in this day and age. You’d expect people who regularly show up on TV to know about the dangers of sitting in a mini skirt, the power of studio lights when it comes to sheer garments and the absolute insanity of attempting to do physical bits like running in heels or exercising in a dress. You’d also expect camera operators to know what camera angles to use so that nobody gets sued for indecency. Yet here we are.
The only thing left to do is look through the hall of fame of wardrobe malfunctions and rate them based on how they were handled.
Jessica Simpson’s Dress Slip
Jessica had quite a stressful comeback performance on the Today show. She was having technical problems with stage monitors and couldn’t hear very well, and then her dress decided to add to her troubles by slipping down on one side. Thankfully, she didn’t panic and handled it like a pro saying yeah I had some malfunctions but it’s fine.
Eva Longoria betrayed by Tuxedo Jacket
Wearing a low cut jacket with nothing underneath is kind of a risky move, but Eva risked it on David Letterman in 2011. It was all going great, they were talking about cilantro, and then mid-conversation her jacket button betrayed her. Thankfully, it wasn’t too bad, she didn’t exactly flash the audience, and Letterman did’t notice until she started trying to fix it mid-conversation.
Bethenny Frankel accidentally turned a push-up into a plot twist
Bethenny Frankel was telling Anderson Cooper on his talk show that she can dance while doing pushups. And of course, as all talk shows go, Anderson decided to challenge her and see if they can do it live on air. You can see it for yourself and make your own conclusions on whether one should attempt pushups in heels and a dress. But the funniest part for us is that after a short embarrassed pause Bethenny joked, “How did it look?”.
Mariah Carey: “I love you, Donatella, but it popped”
Miraya Carey had a problem with her dress in 2013 on Good Morning America and she talked the whole way through it. It was a masterclass on how to handle a stressful situation on live TV. We don’t think we’ve ever seen someone be so chill and composed about it. Mariah even joked: “I love you, Donatella, but it popped”.
Angie Harmon’s button rebellion
Angie Harmon was talking about the new season of her show on Fox & Friends when the buttons on her blouse came undone. Angie handled it super quickly by fixing the rebellious buttons, acknowledging the situation, and swiftly moving on with discussing the show she came there to promote. We love a professional who can come out of a tricky situation with grace.
Sarah McDaniel vs. gravity on Stephen Colbert
Sarah McDaniel went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote Playboy’s “non-nude cover era” and wore a strapless dress that was holding on for dear life as it was, but once you sat down in it, the dress just kept sliding lower and lower. It was extremely awkward for everyone involved and at one point Stephen asked if he could get her sum duct tape and later attempted to give Sarah a tissue to cover up. The whole interview was a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happened, and Stephen tried his best to avoid that.
Rosamund Pike, calmly announcing her dress split
Rosamund felt her dress rip from behind in the middle of a segment on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. But she went on to simply state what’s happening, checking that she’s “safe” and isn’t revealing herself on TV, and went on with the game bit they were doing. Now that’s a woman who knows how to handle a chaotic situation and still make it look like she’s in control.
Jenna Fischer’s iconic towel solution
No one expected to see Jenna Fischer in a towel and jeans on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but it happened. She even brought out her dress with her as proof that this is not how she meant to dress. As Jenna eloquently put it, she waited too long to get dressed, and then her dress zipper broke, and she simply improvised with a towel because the show must go on. We’re pretty sure many celebs would’ve stalled or just chosen not to go on air, but Jenna’s save was hilarious and iconic.
Paris Hilton’s shoe incident
This is the most innocent wardrobe malfunction we’ve ever seen and it was handled with humour even by Paris herself, who reposted the clip because of corse she did. She walked onto The Tonight Show wearing two different shoes, because she couldn’t locate the matching heel in time. It was a very relatable moment, because she might be a glamorous celeb, but she’s also human and we all sometimes struggle to find matching socks. Except for Paris is was the problem of location matching designer shoes.
Dakota Johnson and the “do you want my jacket?” moment
Dakota went on The Late Late Show with James Corden and when she sat down in her red mini-dress she discovered it was way too short to sit on that couch comfortably. She looked shocked for a second but when James offered her his jacket she shrugged it off with “it’s nothing nobody has already seen” referencing her 50 shades of grey role. We loved her dry humour and calm demeanour.
Camila Cabello’s remote interview surprise
Sometimes the wardrobe malfunction happens even when you’re doing a show remotely and are dressed comfortably. Camilla was wearing a blouse and jeans and was attempting to show a dance move when her blouse decided to shift a little and reveal a bit too much. Camilla just went on to do the dance move and comment saying, “ I hope you didn’t see nipple” in the most casual way possible.