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Stephanie Mills and Patti LaBelle say they had a cosmetic procedure to keep up with the demands of the music industry.
While chatting about their longevity in the industry on the Sept. 12 episode of The Breakfast Club, Mills, 68, and LaBelle, 81, both revealed that they got a nose job — and were influenced to do so by others in the industry.
LaBelle said she “never” thought she would have staying power in the industry “because I had an issue also with my being a Black woman with a big nose.”
“And a friend of mine got her nose done, and I thought, ‘Oh, I think I need to try that. Maybe I’ll get more gigs,’ ” she continued with a laugh. “I tried it. I did. I have a new nose.”
“Was it me? You can say it, I don’t care. It was me,” Mills chimed in, adding, “I had my nose done in the early ’80s and I went to [Patti’s] house for dinner, and she said, ‘What did you do?’ I said, ‘I got my nose [done],’ and she was like, ‘I could get one.’ ”
Breakfast Club/Youtube
The “On My Own” singer noted that while Mills was her “inspiration” for a nose job, she ultimately got it done due to the pressures she felt from a previous music industry manager, whom she said told her “mean” things about her appearance.
“It was a manager I had back in the day. A white gentleman, and he said so many things to me, but whenever I sang, he said, ‘My God,’ ” LaBelle recalled. “I said, ‘Is it alright if I keep this nose?’ You know things like that to him, [and] he was just mean.”
When a Breakfast Club host noted to Mills and LaBelle, “I didn’t know either one of y’all got nose jobs,” the latter said, “Chile, I had to.”
“I [got a nose job] and then [Patti] did… All of them do it. You know, all of the girls do it,” Mills added.
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One of the show’s hosts asked LaBelle, “Did you get more gigs [after the nose job]? Did it change anything?” and she replied, “I think it did.”
Mills said she got the inspiration for her nose job from the late Michael Jackson, and she even “went to the same doctor.” She joked, “But now I think I look like Chaka [Khan]. Chaka and I could be sisters.”
The Breakfast Club hosts then asked Khan, who was also on the show, whether she had anything done cosmetically, to which the “I’m Every Woman” musician responded, “Hell no.”
When one of the hosts also inquired if she’s ever had a “BBL” or “Brazilian Butt Lift,” Khan, 72, questioned, “What’s that?”
“How long has my butt been like this? My whole life. I have the same behind I’ve always had,” she shared, insisting she never intends to have any cosmetic surgery.
“You could not cut me for nothing,” she said.
