Today in science: Lady Gaga's left nipple

Did the performer's breast escape her jumpsuit on Leno last night?

Published November 24, 2009 3:25PM (EST)

On the issue of whether Lady Gaga's left boob was visible for a nanosecond during her performance on Leno last night, Rachel Sklar at Mediaite concludes, "After careful review here's my unscientific analysis: Yes." Oh, Rachel, don't sell yourself short. Yours is the most astoundingly scientific analysis of a possible celebrity nip slip I ever did see. Consider: "At 3:26, a backup dancer lifted her (by the crotch no less!) and then, switching her position 90 degrees and lowering her, staggered just a touch. Gaga did not miss a beat but as he lowered her, she quickly adjusted her left breast and continued the song." Also, after she finished performing, Gaga "froze in place, with her microphone arm hugged tightly to her side. When Leno came over to greet her she extended the arm -- and that is when I am 99% positive the faintest, quickest glimpse of aureola [sic] was visible."

If all that isn't persuasive enough, a fuzzy screenshot of the moment is included so the Internet can weigh in on the question of the hour: Shadow or nipple? Says Sklar, "My last-night TV rewind told me nipple, but here's why I will argue for it based on a small, unclear still: Note the difference in how one side of the jumpsuit is cut to the other side. The 'V' of the decolletage is not symmetrical." Lawyered! Also, seriously?

I'm still not convinced there was visible nip, nor am I convinced I should care. If you'd like to investigate for yourself, Mediaite has clips. Personally, now I just want to watch the "Bad Romance" video all day instead of working. Perhaps you'd care to join me. 

 


By Kate Harding

Kate Harding is the author of Asking For It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture--and What We Can Do About It, available from Da Capo Press in August 2015. Previously, she collaborated with Anna Holmes, Amanda Hess, and a cast of thousands on The Book of Jezebel, and with Marianne Kirby on Lessons from the Fat-o-Sphere. You might also remember her as the founding editor of Shapely Prose (2007-2010). Kate's essays have appeared in the anthologies Madonna & Me, Yes Means Yes, Feed Me, and Airmail: Women of Letters. She holds an M.F.A. in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a B.A. in English from University of Toronto, and is currently at work on a Ph.D. in creative writing from Bath Spa University

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