Pop diva Madonna may have one of the most impressive careers in music history, but the “Vogue” singer revealed that a wardrobe malfunction nearly ended her career three decades ago.
The 63-year-old shared the brutal accident while performing on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Wednesday, decked out with a mouthful of “birthday grills” in true Madonna fashion.
The star joined Fallon to promote her new album “Finally Enough Love”, a collection of the singer’s favorite dance hits.
As the album celebrates Madonna’s record number of top songs, the star revealed her iconic “Like a Virgin” performance at the first-ever MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, nearly canceling her.
As the then 26-year-old descended on the MTV stage to perform the hit song, her stiletto slipped out from under her, forcing the singer to duck to catch it — accidentally flipping her dress and exposing her behind in the process.
“Those were the days when you didn’t have to show your behind to make a career,” the star joked. “Now it’s the opposite.”
Madonna recalled that her reps backstage deemed her career “over” after accidentally flashing,
‘It wasn’t even the whole ass! It was like an ass cheek – like half of an ass cheek,’ Madonna argued to the audience.
Fallon also reminded the audience that “Like a Virgin” should never have been the single from the record, as producer Nile Rodgers wanted it to be “Material Girl”.
“Those were the days when I had nothing to say about anything,” the Grammy winner recalled. “Can you imagine those days even exist?”
Despite the fears of her old representatives, Madonna’s career was far from over after accidentally flashing on stage. Her new album, which celebrates her 50 #1 hits on the Billboard charts, was released earlier this summer, with a CD and vinyl release on August 19.