French Ice Dancer Suffers Wardrobe Malfunction on Live TV, Still Finishes 2nd
Gabriella Papadakis said it was her "worst nightmare happening at the Olympics"
By Danielle Abreu ••
French ice dancer Gabriella Papadakis suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction that left her breast exposed during her short program performance at the Winter Olympics.
The first notes of Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" had just played Monday when Papadakis suddenly became aware that people were about to see a whole lot more of her shape than she had planned.
The neck clasp of the figure skater's halter-top dress unfastened at the beginning of her routine with partner Guillaume Cizeron. Papadakis' struggle to keep her top from falling down served as a distraction throughout the duo's performance and marred the routine.
And though she made a valiant effort to keep her chest covered by constantly pulling up her top, it was ultimately a losing proposition. Papadakis’ left breast was exposed to the audience and those watching on live television across the world.
It didn't take long for those watching at home to weigh in on the #nipslip on Twitter.
The poor French ice dancer who had the costume malfunction handled it with such poise. You did amazing sweetie 👏🏽❤️ #icedancing#PyeongChang2018
A visibly teary-eyed Papadakis avoided the media zone after their routine. She later said it was her "worst nightmare happening at the Olympics."
Even with the wardrobe malfunction, the French couple scored 81.93 points, to take second place behind Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. They now will rely on their stronger free dance on Tuesday to make up the point differential for a shot at the gold medal.
Alex and Maia Shibutani, or the “Shib Sibs,” dazzled in the short dance portion of the ice dance competition. They earned 77.73 points to earn a place in the final on Feb. 20
"It’s just frustrating to miss a few points just because of a costume issue,” Cizeron told reporters afterward. "It is not what we get ready for when we train. I am still proud that we managed to pull out a program like that even with a difficulty like this."
An NBC spokesman says the network has edited the video for future television broadcasts and online replays.
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