Former Big Brother Naija housemate, Queen Mercy Atang, has revealed that the viral bread-inspired outfit she wore to the 12th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, AMVCA, left her with a severe back injury.
Queen, whose appearance in a dress reportedly made from 500 loaves of bread sparked widespread reactions online, said the outfit’s weight caused physical pain and left visible wounds on her back.
Speaking in an interview with BBC News Pidgin, the reality TV star clarified that the concept was created by celebrity fashion designer Toyin Lawani of Tiannah Empire, not by her.
“First of all, I was not the one who made the dress. Tianah Empire, the king of fashion, made it. It is just for me to get the clothes ready to put on,” she said.
According to Queen, the dress took weeks to complete and required several fittings, but wearing it turned into an exhausting experience.
“She asked me first to come and fit myself with the dress to look for places that need adjustments. It took weeks to get the dress ready.
“But for me, the weight of the dress almost broke my waist. If you check my back, I have a serious wound there. Because that bread was very heavy. I literally cried while wearing that dress. I first said I needed to catch my breath,” she said.
The former BBNaija star disclosed that she removed the outfit moments after first wearing it because she could no longer cope with the pain.
“The first few seconds after wearing the dress, I had to take it off and cried a lot. Then later, I told them I was ready to wear it again,” she added.
Queen said the unconventional outfit was partly designed to spotlight her business brand, an idea suggested by her stylist. She also revealed that she initially had no plans to attend this year’s AMVCA because she was focused on personal business goals and wanted a simple look if she eventually showed up.
“My designer later urged me to go, while I told her to do something simple for me to wear. But she told me I cannot dress simply for the event,” she said.
Despite arriving after the red carpet session had ended, Queen insisted on attending physically to silence doubts that the photos circulating online were digitally created.
“I wanted to go to the event physically even after the red carpet had closed. I did not want to post the picture online alone, so people would not say it was AI-generated,” she said.
Reflecting on the aftermath, the reality star admitted she expected mixed reactions but never imagined the outfit would dominate headlines.
“I did not expect my dress to go viral like this. I expected people would have mixed feelings about it. But I noticed that major news outlets reported it,” she added.
Leave a comment