How Madonna kissing Britney Spears shocked the world

The Independent

Watch How Madonna kissing Britney Spears shocked the world - The Independent on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00At the time, gay marriage was illegal.

00:02But that didn't stop Madonna from having her two brides on stage for the 2003 VMAs.

00:07Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, no less.

00:09For many in the gay community, this was a huge deal.

00:13Did this make me gay?

00:14While it was supposed to be this big tabloid moment,

00:18I think it actually did mean a lot for people.

00:20There were no lesbian icons other than Ellen and Rosie O'Donnell.

00:28And no doubt it was a big deal for Britney and Christina,

00:30who were performing with and kissing their icon.

00:33It's freaking Madonna, man.

00:35Both women grew up idolizing Madonna.

00:37This is seriously something I've dreamt about since I was a little girl.

00:39Because Madonna, I mean, anybody kisses Madonna creates some hype.

00:42In Britney's recent memoir, she said that Madonna,

00:44who she references 18 times throughout the book,

00:47was her childhood icon, who became her mentor

00:49after Justin Timberlake publicly accused her of cheating on him.

00:52Meanwhile, Christina has said that Madonna's albums,

00:55along with her documentary, Truth or Dare, were a huge inspiration.

00:58But not everyone was a fan of this tantalizing trios.

01:02As the New York Post puts it,

01:07The New York Post, having interviewed those sitting in the front row

01:10during the performance,

01:11helpfully confirmed that there definitely was tongue.

01:16And conservative pockets of America,

01:18along with even a few famous women, took issue.

01:20Hasn't anyone ever seen two girls kiss before?

01:23Stevie Nicks called it the most obnoxious moment in television history.

01:27She also said that Madonna was too old to be kissing 22-year-olds.

01:31Bette Midler said it was irresponsible,

01:32while The Washington Post said it

01:36This was, of course, back in the day when the public could still be shocked.

01:39We were yet to see Lady Gaga showing up to the VMAs in a raw meat dress

01:43or Miley Cyrus doing this.

01:45At the time, the producers knew it would be a big moment,

01:48so deliberately started the show a few minutes late.

01:51And during the dress rehearsal,

01:53Madonna ordered everyone out of the theater

01:55so that no one would leak the details.

01:57The kiss has been widely reported and parodied,

01:59once by Kylie Jenner,

02:01and notably by drag queen Derrick Burry,

02:03with Madonna herself.

02:07Although sadly, no one ever seems to dress up as Christina.

02:14If there was anything truly wrong with this iconic moment,

02:17it was probably the treatment that Christina received.

02:20I didn't even remember she was in it.

02:23MTV didn't actually air Christina kissing Madonna.

02:26Instead, they did an instant pan towards Britney's ex,

02:29Justin Timberlake's blank face,

02:31the moment after her and Madonna locked lips.

02:33Justice for Christina.

02:34They cut away to get Justin's reaction.

02:36They were exes, but still it was just like a cheap shot.

02:39Back then, cheap shots were everywhere.

02:41The era was rife with controversy.

02:44In fact, having Britney and Christina on stage together

02:46was a controversy in itself.

02:48There was alleged conflict between the pair,

02:50since Christina had just finished touring with Britney's ex.

02:53They also both had plenty of alleged enemies among the crowd.

02:56Britney had Justin Timberlake and Avril Lavigne,

02:58while Christina had Eminem.

03:00All of these people's reactions in the crowd were duly captured.

03:03Although personally, my favorite reaction was this one.

03:05But yes, Justin's face won the drama contest.

03:08It's completely understandable that Christina was upset.

03:11She shared secondhand saliva with her alleged enemy,

03:14and for what?

03:15To be parred by MTV.

03:17According to Rolling Stone,

03:18her team actually tried to have more of her kiss

03:20edited into the footage for future viewers.

03:22Christina was treated like a footnote.

03:24She wasn't even the first person in mind for this role.

03:27MTV asked JLo first, but she was busy.

03:29However, you can't deny that her powerful live vocals

03:32helped make the performance.

03:34So, it was Britney and Madonna who took center stage.

03:36Britney went on to produce a single with the Queen of Pop,

03:39as rumors began stirring of something romantic between them.

03:42Although both women are gay icons,

03:44Madonna is the only one to come out as bisexual,

03:46and it would appear that her and Brit were always just friends.

03:49Back in 2003,

03:51accounts of which Pop Diva really pushed for the kiss were varied.

03:54According to the VMA's producers,

03:56the kiss was Madonna's idea.

03:57Although, Madonna claimed that it was Britney's idea to open her mouth.

04:00You know lemon, you make lemonade.

04:02If someone comes at you with their lips slightly parted,

04:04you have to kiss them.

04:07Of course, by the time the performance was over,

04:09the whole of conservative America's mouth was wide open too.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended