She killed it in her epic performance and hosting duties at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, but Nicki Minaj’s appearance has fans wondering if the star has gone under the knife.
WATCH: Nicki Minaj at the 2022 VMAs
While Nicki made history in becoming the second female rapper in history to be honoured with the MTV Video Vanguard Award at the show, her win was overshadowed by talk from viewers who took to social media to question whether the ‘Anaconda’ rapper has had plastic surgery.
Others, however, swooned over the singer’s fresh look, with one writing on Twitter, “Nicki Minaj is the prettiest female rapper. None of the girls are seeing her in the face category. She’s effortlessly eating them up… Yup!”
Another added, “Nicki’s face is so pretty damn!”
“Nicki makes coloured contacts look good,” a third added of the signer’s bright-blue contact lenses she wore during the show.
The rap superstar has repeatedly denied having gone under the knife, even going as far as to slam rumours in a previous interview with Extra, claiming: ”I’ve never had surgery on my face. God, it’s makeup, people!”
But what did Nicki look like before all the fame and fortune? Read on to find out the truth about her transformation!
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Nicki Minaj Before And After The Fame
Despite being under the public eye with over 107 million followers on Instagram, Nicki has kept details of her private life hidden in plain sight. We’ve done a bit of digging, and it turns out that she’s got a lot of secrets – so maybe cosmetic surgeries are part of them. Let’s not forget about the mugshots that surfaced showing her arrest for possession of a weapon in 2003!
In an interview with E Online, she admitted that she wasn’t always so flashy and fierce. “Before my first album, I used to have a natural look. Only my really underground followers knew that side of me.”
Nowadays, the ‘Super Bass’ lady boss is famous for her chart-topping hits, out-of-this-world fashion, colourful wigs, and controversial twerking performances. But is she really shaking what her mum gave her – or are they the creations of plastic surgeons?
Nicki Minaj Before And After Plastic Surgery
Nicki has come a long way from her humble beginnings in the Bronx. From Red Lobster waitress to glamorous hip-hop legend, we’re here to see how she’s grown in more ways than one. Here’s a timeline that shows some drastic changes since she made it big in 2009 with all the pictures to back it up!
1. Nose Job (2009)
Judging from her old photos, Nicki has always had a sharp nose – but why does it look slimmer? She chalks it up to the power of contouring! In a 2013 interview with Extra’s Renee Bargh, she addressed the issues head-on.
“They’ll see contour and they’ll think you had surgery on your nose, no no no, look at ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and you’ll see how you can make your nose look any shape you want. When people see my makeup they think all types of crazy things that I’m doing to my skin, but it’s makeup.”
2. Veneers (2010)
When she debuted her Pink Friday album, she was more than happy to flash her pearly whites on the red carpet! On a piece with The Guardian, the interviewer asked her if her teeth were natural, and she clapped back with a reply, asking: “Are your teeth natural?”
Most likely, she’s gone to the dentist for veneers to give her that megawatt smile!
3. Boob Job (2010 – 2017)
Over the years, Nicki’s chest seems to have gotten bigger, leading some of us to believe that she’s had several breast augmentation procedures. If you look at her photos and videos from the past decade, you’ll notice how they seem to magically defy gravity no matter what! While Nicki hasn’t spoken up about it, her daring photos speak louder than words.
5. Butt Implants (2010 – 2015)
Her assets are so huge that they’ve given her tons of wardrobe malfunctions and problems fitting into costumes! One time, TMZ reported that her butt “exploded” while she was performing on stage during one of her concerts. Talk about a bummer!
She’s also been criticized by fellow rappers for years for lying about her implants with Remy Ma revealing in a song that Nicki’s ex Meek Mill had known the truth.
”I saw Meek at All-Star,” Remy wrapped on her diss track Shelter.
”He told me your a** dropped. He couldn’t f*** you for three months because your a** dropped.”
Nicki then responded in epic style on her diss track No Frauds, rapping ”You a fraud committin’ perjery, I got before and after pictures of your surgery.”
Since then, Nicki has mentioned nothing about implants, but Beverly Hills surgeon Dr David Feldmar gave Radar his two cents. “It does appear that she’s had some sort of augmentation in the gluteal area. It looks like she had gluteal implants placed, or perhaps got fat injections.”
Nicki has however hit out at fans who have commented online about whether her body is real or fake, including one rebuttal which saw Nicki tweet ”Must suck to be so jealous, insecure [and] ugly.”
But, finally, in a 2022 interview with rapper Joe Budden, Nicki confirmed that yes, she had had a procedure to enhance her backside that DIDN’T involve surgery.
”It wasn’t acceptable to have surgery or anything,” she explained.
”At that time, I had never had surgery, I had a** shots.”
6. Hip Surgery (2016)
Nicki is quite petite with her 5’2” frame, and it looks like her legs are proportionately thinner compared to the rest of her body. To balance out her proportions with the junk in her trunk, she may have transferred fat into the sides of her hips to give her curvaceous figure a boost!
7. Botox (2017 – 2019)
Now in her mid 30s, it looks like Nicki doesn’t have a wrinkle in sight! Does she have an amazing skin regimen we don’t know about? Maybe not. Some people suspect that Nicki got a face lift with the help of fillers, which could explain why her face is so damn flawless!
Nicki Blasted On Twitter
An anonymous account with the name @LittoThot put Nicki on blast when she tweeted about her dad performing surgical procedures on the Barb. It all sounds rather tragic, but we’re sceptical about her outrageous claims. However, the shady tweet didn’t stop fans from obsessing over the hot topic on Twitter. Check out the quote and judge for yourself!
Plastic or Fantastic?
Even with the controversy surrounding her appearance, she doesn’t let it affect her confidence, telling Extra: “I don’t mind the questions, I don’t mind the fascination…But I’ve said this before, it doesn’t define me. So, I try my best not to focus my energy on it. Like, if you guys focus energy on and spend energy on it, I don’t mind it. You know, people are sitting in the barbershop talking about my butt, it’s conversational. That’s what people are gonna do. As long as they’re talking about Nicki Minaj, I’m good.”
She recently married Kenneth Perry after dating for only a year, but we’re happy to see that she’s found someone who loves her for who she is – inside and out!
Baby Got Back
Has Nicki reached her final form? We may never know – but her style, music, and signature physique continue to evolve with her successful music career.
Whether you think she’s keeping it real or not, the rumours keep sliding off like water on plastic.
