Britney Spears looks back on iconic VMAs snake moment: 'Still remember how scared I felt'
Around the turn of the millennium, the MTV Video Music Awards were synonymous with one Britney Jean Spears.
With the annual awards show coming up next Tuesday, and her memoir coming out later this fall, Spears took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to recall one of her most iconic moments.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage Britney Spears
"One of my favorite performances was with an albino python," the "Piece of Me" singer wrote. "I still remember how scared I felt when I was handed this snake and took the stage!!! I talked more about this performance and other favorites in my book The Woman in Me. I can't wait for you to read it on Oct. 24."
One of my favorite performances was with an albino python 😳🐍💃🏼 … I still remember how scared I felt when I was handed this snake and took the stage !!! I talked more about this performance and other favorites in my book #TheWomanInMe … I can’t wait for you to read it on… pic.twitter.com/tXQpq7v3RV
— Britney Spears 🌹🚀 (@britneyspears) September 6, 2023
After making her debut VMA performance in 1999, sharing the stage with fellow teeny-boppers *NSYNC, Spears returned on her own the following year — older, wiser, and sexier — for a rendition of "Oops!...I Did It Again" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction."
But it was 2001 when Spears cemented her status as Queen of the VMA stage with the help of a giant python and an undeniable bop produced by The Neptunes.
Also written by the production duo of Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, "I'm a Slave 4 U" was a modest hit when it was released, peaking at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, but in the great and heavily stacked pantheon of Britney hits, it's a classic. And the 2001 VMA performance had a lot to do with it.
Having topped herself in 2001, Spears sat out performing at the 2002 show, only to return in 2003 with Christina Aguilera and Madonna for an equally, if not even more, memorable VMA performance.
There likely won't be any moment as instantly iconic as Britney and her python, but folks will try their darndest when the MTV VMAs return on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.
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