Nicki Minaj: Six-Foot Snake Bites Dancer During VMA Rehearsals

During a rehearsal for her performance of at tomorrow night’s MTV Video Music Awards, one of Nicki Minaj’s dancers was bitten by a snake.

The incident happened while Nicki Minaj and company were rehearsing Minaj’s new single, “Anaconda.” According to China Topix, Nicki and the other dancers looked on in fright as the six-foot long boa constrictor slithered at the dancer and bit her.

Pandemonium ensued as the woman screamed in pain and fright. The animal was immediately caught by stage personnel and placed in a large container. Nicki Minaj’s dancer was then rushed to a Los Angeles hospital.

Captain Rory Brunner of the Los Angeles Fire Department was on the scene and said:

“[Bringing her to the hospital] was just to make sure she was okay.”

The bite of a boa constrictor carries no venom, however, the saliva of the snake can cause infection, according to Animal Diversity Web. Normally boa constrictors wrap around and squeeze the air out of their prey until they’re dead — hence their name. Boa constrictors usually don’t bite unless threatened, so many believe that the dancer must have unintentionally startled the animal.

The appearance of snakes onstage at the Video Music Awards won’t be the first time a performer has used the slithering props. Many may remember that at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards that Britney Spears performed her song “I’m a Slave 4 U” with an albino python draped over her shoulders.

When Nicki Minaj’s video for “Anaconda” was released on Wednesday, it broke video streaming service Vevo’s record for most views in a 24 hour period. The previous record-holder was Miley Cyrus’s video for “Wrecking Ball.” Nicki Minaj broke that record with over 19.6 million views of the NSFW “Anaconda.”

The song samples and gathers inspiration from Six Mix-A-Lot’s 1991 hit, “Baby Got Back.” Its line, “My anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns, hon,” was taken to heart by Nicki Minaj, as her video for the song features, well, a lot of buns. Surprisingly, what the video doesn’t have a lot of is snakes. In fact, though the video is jungle-themed, and the name of the song is “Anaconda,” there isn’t a single snake to be found in the video.

There’s no word yet whether or not the snake that bit Nicki Minaj’s dancer will catch a reprieve and be allowed to perform at Sunday night’s VMAs, or if it will be replaced, or if Nicki Minaj will decided that, like her video, maybe the snake shouldn’t appear at all.

[Images via Information Nigeria and Billboard]