More and more celebrities have been showing off smaller breasts as of late, making implant removal a growing trend. Nicki Minaj is the latest to jump on that bandwagon, although she went the breast reduction route. The Grammy-nominated rapper posted an Instagram video promoting her new song “Barbie World”—and displaying some new cleavage. “New boobs, who dis?” she wrote in the comments section.
The reveal comes more than a year after 40-year-old Minaj previously alluded to wanting to change her breast size. “I’m not gonna lie, somebody did tell me to get my boobs taken off, like a female in the industry,” Minaj said on an Instagram Live in May 2022.
“And I was like, ‘No, no, not yet, not yet.’ And yeah, she was right. I should’ve hurried up and took them off. A cup. Oh, it’s A-cup season,” she said. (Although judging by her recent photos, we’re somewhat skeptical that she ended up withan A cup.)
So what exactly did Minaj’s surgery entail? “A breast reduction surgery involves removing a significant amount of the weight and extra skin from the breasts,” explains Dr. David Shafer, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City. “There is an element of a lift as well, as the nipple and areola are often repositioned to a more youthful position, centered on the breast,” he explains.
While Minaj didn’t reveal exactly when she’d had her surgery, Dr. Shafer notes that results are usually seen fairly quickly. Swelling and bruising can occur in the first few weeks afterward but typically resolve within a few months as the breasts settle into their final position, he explains. Still, he notes that patients feel the effects instantaneously, oftentimes describing the feeling of having a weight lifted off of their chest and a sense of freedom even while they’re still in the recovery room. (It’s no surprise that the surgery has a 97% Worth It Rating among RealSelf members.)Minaj isn’t the only musician to have recently undergone a reduction. In March, Doja Cat shared that she’d had a breast reduction, going down to a 32C, as well as liposuction.
