Nicki Minaj's backup dancer is finally opening up following her recent incident with a snake during a rehearsal for the singer's performance of her song "Anaconda" at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.
Genise Ruidiaz revealed to MTV that it was her first time performing with an animal. She was told during auditions that she might have to work with a snake but said that she did not object to the performance because she did not want to pass up such a big opportunity.
The 25-year-old dancer, who has performed with artists like Diddy, Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull, said despite her fear, she talked to Rocky, the snake, like he was a human. She added that she liked having the snake around and even considered buying a snake herself.
"On Friday, the day that it happened, I was practicing the tricks with another contortionist and coming up with an alternate pose, and the snake was fine," she told MTV. "We did it about four times before the incident happened and he was gripping me the way he was supposed to, but I felt like he was getting tired and didn't want to hold on much."
Ruidiaz continued: "The trainers told me the only reason a snake would attack, is if they felt like they were at harm, so I tried to readjust to make sure that he felt safe on me. But right when I did one trick, I guess he must've felt I wasn't holding onto him, so he went ahead and took a nice little bite out of my left arm."
Ruidiaz was given a tetanus shot, an antibiotic in case of infection and an X-ray. She told MTV that the bite felt like being shot with 40 needles at one time and also revealed that Nicki was one of the first people by her side after she was bitten.
"They sat me down on one of the props and one of the first people I saw was Nicki Minaj in front of me, making sure that I was OK," she relived. "And that was the one thing that I really appreciated, because some people can't handle blood or an incident like that - especially when it's their big performance - so the fact that she was one of the first people that I saw, I was really thankful."
The rapper's performance was scheduled to go on with a different snake, which Ruidiaz described as thinner and smaller then Rocky, however MTV producers eliminated the idea claiming that the animal was a safety risk.
Despite her horrifying experience, Ruidiaz said working with Rocky allowed her to overcome a major fear, admitting that she hasn't ruled out the option of working with snakes in the future.
