There are no good slips in figure skating, but French skater Gabriella Papadakis suffered perhaps the most embarrassing kind of slip when her breast emerged from her costume during a pairs routine in Pyeongchang on Sunday.
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The offending outfit was a fringed, sequined green costume that appeared to come unhooked under the hand of Papadakisâ partner, Guillaume Cizeron, partway through their short program performance. Papadakis later said she knew immediately that the wardrobe malfunction had occurred, but did not interrupt her routine to correct it. Instead the pair pressed on, though their performance appeared to suffer as Papadakis tried to avoid shaking the loosened costume out of place with her spins and dips.
âI felt it right away and I prayed,â Papadakis said after the performance. âThat was about what I could do.â
Viewers who watched it live saw the full shape of Papadakisâ left breast emerge in the final seconds of the routine, as the pair skated to Ed Sheeranâs âShape of You.â Papadakis came out of a complex lift manoeuvre and put her arms out in a flourish, with her left nipple clearly visible. The costume had clearly slipped to one side.
The two continued through the last 10 seconds of their performance, which culminated in a dramatic dip with Papadakis leaning back in Cizeronâs arms.
The live feed cut to a close-up of Papadakis in the dip position, with her nipple quite obviously protruding from the edge of the costume and holding it to one side.
The Canadian and American rightholders of the footage have since apologized for the unexpected nudity. Both pointed out that it appeared without warning during a live broadcast at approximately 11:20 p.m. ET. The footage has since been edited for rebroadcast.
The French pair were considered a threat to Canadaâs Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir coming into the competition, but ended up finishing second to the Canadians.
Both teams were coached by Canadians Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon.
Dubreuil said Papadakisâ âunfortunateâ wardrobe malfunction occurred because the hooks at the neck of the costume had come undone.
âShe has nerves of steel,â Dubreuil told The Canadian Press. âI donât know of any other girl who would have finished the performance the way she did, even with the top completely outdone.â
Dubreuil also praised Cizeron for trying to keep the top in place so they could continue with their skate.
âEven with that being a huge distraction they still managed to pull off 81-point-something points,â Dubreuil said. âIâm really proud of that.â
Papadakisâ nipple slip touched off a flurry of conversation on social media late Sunday. Some were shocked by the wardrobe malfunction, while others were eager to praise the skater for keeping her composure. A few criticized the broadcasters who replayed the performance in slow motion, perhaps without noticing the slip.
Ummmm did I just see Gabriella Papadakis' nipple???
â J Alani (@Jolade_)
The whole world has seen Gabriella Papadakisâ nipple, but I mean good thing they didnât show it a second time... in slow motion.... as a close up
â Avery Elliott ď¸ (@aveismehname)
Elaine Benes can totally relate to what just happened to Gabriella Papadakis at the Olympics just now.
â Jim Barrero (@jimbarrero)
Gabriella Papadakis skating a full short program with a wardrobe malfunction is true heroism
â sham corb (@samcorb)
As female figure skaters costumes get smaller, a nip slip happens to Gabriella Papadakis on the biggest stage in the world. Maybe don't make athletes wear costumes that skimpy.
â Colin Perret (@ColinPerret)
Poor Gabriella Papadakis. How distracting for her to try and skate with that happening to her dress.
â twissles (@slowseptember)
Did I just see that.....in slow motion...on the playback ....on live television...poor girl
â Natalie Murdock (@nataliemurdock)
wow just woke up to news of what happened to my queen gabriella papadakis @ her & guillaume's olympics sd & honestly-- wow, the epitome of grace and professionalism. im not even surprised that she was so elegant under pressure. A QUEEN.
â Aubrey (@exo_stentialism)
South Korean skater Yura Min also suffered a wardrobe malfunction earlier in the Games when her costume became unclasped, although viewers ultimately saw far less of her than they did of Papadakis.