The MTV Video Music Awards have hosted some questionable moments on their stage over the years. Of course, many of them love on in pop culture infamy – particularly Madonna’s makeout session with Britney Spears at the 2003 ceremony.
Madonna, Christina Aguilera, and Britney Spears kiss at the VMAS (2003) pic.twitter.com/GT3Q9REg60
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(@BIackoutSyn) July 21, 2021
As Daily Mail notes, the evening was full of entertainment. The Mississippi-born pop star rose from a wedding cake to sing “Like a Virgin,” the same way the original vocalist did back in 1984.
Afterward, Spears had Christina Aguilera join her so they could sing together. Before long, Madonna was beside them, launching into her track, “Hollywood.” While she was commanding the audience, the Queen of Pop took the world by surprise as she leaned over to smooch the “Womanizer” singer.
The moment still sparks conversation two decades later. What many people don’t know, though, is that another kiss happened on stage that night. When the cameras cut to broadcast Justin Timberlake’s reaction to his ex locking lips with an older woman, Madonna and Aguilera were having an intimate moment of their own.
In a 2018 interview, the “Dirrty” songstress recalled her disappointment after the big moment failed to make an impact. “I definitely saw the newspaper the next day and it was like, ‘Oh, well, I guess I got left out of that,” she said at the time.
Interestingly, it’s now been confirmed that Aguilera almost wasn’t invited on stage at all. In fact, it was Jennifer Lopez who was first asked to perform with Spears and Madonna at the VMAs.
During a recent chat with E! News, the Hustlers actress explained what caused her to miss out on the momentous occasion. “I was filming a movie in Canada and I met with Madonna and Britney,” she began.
“And I couldn’t get off the film, so they got Christina to do it. I’m a huge fan of Madonna, I always have been,” Lopez later added.
It remains unclear if we’ll ever see the moment recreated with the original trio, though the blonde bombshells did share a smooch at Spears’ wedding to Sam Asghari. Read more about that here, and check back later for more pop culture news updates.