--- description: In her memoir, Spears reveals new details about how her iconic VMAs kiss with Madonna came to be. title: Britney Spears on Her Unplanned, Iconic Kiss With Madonna image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c80fb68d5df6075/698a416616d8845a0ac3c5ad/Britney-Madonna-VMASjpg.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Britney Spears on Her Unplanned, Iconic Kiss With Madonna at the VMAs ## Video: 'Crossroads' Director Reflects on Britney Spears and Impact of the Movie [Watch (HLS stream): 'Crossroads' Director Reflects on Britney Spears and Impact of the Movie](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fBL9ZckL.m3u8) (3:41)  _Published 2023-10-19. The movie "Crossroads" returns to theaters on Oct. 23 and 25 for a special fan event to accompany the release of Spears' memoir, The Woman in Me._  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Oct 19, 2023 5:59 PM CUT  Britney Spears and Madonna perform at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City Britney Spears and Madonna perform at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York CityChristopher Pike—FilmMagic/Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Oct 19, 2023 5:59 PM CUT When [Britney Spears](https://time.com/6317486/britney-spears-life-post-conservatorship/ "undefined") kissed [Madonna](https://time.com/6253977/madonna-face-grammys-2023/ "undefined") while performing onstage at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), it became the smooch seen 'round the world. Now, in her memoir, [_The Woman in Me_](https://time.com/6324615/the-woman-in-me-britney-spears-conservatorship/ "undefined"), Spears is revealing new details about how the kiss—widely considered to be one of the most iconic moments in music award-show history—came to be. In the book, a copy of which was obtained by TIME ahead of its Oct. 24 release, Spears writes that while she, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera were rehearsing their performance of "Like a Virgin," they had always practiced an air kiss. But, right before they were set to go on the night of the show, Spears started to think that it might be a good idea to switch things up. "About two minutes before the performance, I was sitting on the side of the stage and thinking about my biggest performance to date at the VMAs, when I'd pulled off a suit to reveal a sparkly outfit," she writes, referencing her performance of "Oops!...I Did It Again" at the 2000 VMAs. "I thought to myself: _I want a moment like that again this year. With the kiss, should I just go for it?_" ### More From TIME Spears goes on to explain how the kiss became a generation-defining moment in pop culture. "A lot was made of that kiss," she writes. "Oprah asked Madonna about it. The kiss was treated as a huge cultural moment—'Britney kissing Madonna!'—and it got us both a lot of attention." **_Read More:_**[_Britney Spears Reveals How She Feels About the #FreeBritney Movement in The Woman in Me_](https://time.com/6325910/britney-spears-memoir-free-britney/ "undefined") Throughout her memoir, Spears also frequently writes about how Madonna served as both a role model and mentor for her early in Spears' career. "Going along with Madonna's ideas and being on her time for days was what it meant to collaborate with her," she writes of the period they spent working together on the 2003 song "Me Against the Music." "It was an important lesson for me, one that would take a long time for me to absorb: she demanded power, and so she got power. She was the center of attention because she made that the condition of her showing up anywhere. She made that life for herself. I hoped I could find ways to do that while preserving the parts of my nice-girl identity that I wanted to keep." ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6325932/britney-spears-madonna-kiss-vmas-2003-book/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6325932/britney-spears-madonna-kiss-vmas-2003-book/"},"headline":"Britney Spears on Her Unplanned, Iconic Kiss With Madonna at the VMAs","datePublished":"2023-10-19T17:59:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:33:45.347Z","description":"In her memoir, Spears reveals new information about how her iconic VMAs kiss with Madonna came to be.","url":"https://time.com/6325932/britney-spears-madonna-kiss-vmas-2003-book/","keywords":["Books","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c80fb68d5df6075/698a416616d8845a0ac3c5ad/Britney-Madonna-VMASjpg.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c80fb68d5df6075/698a416616d8845a0ac3c5ad/Britney-Madonna-VMASjpg.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2003 MTV Video Music Awards - Show","caption":"Britney Spears and Madonna perform at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards","creditText":"Christopher Pike—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6325932/britney-spears-madonna-kiss-vmas-2003-book/","name":"Britney Spears on Her Unplanned, Iconic Kiss With Madonna at the VMAs"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"'Crossroads' Director Reflects on Britney Spears and Impact of the Movie","description":"The movie \"Crossroads\" returns to theaters on Oct. 23 and 25 for a special fan event to accompany the release of Spears' memoir, The Woman in Me.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fBL9ZckL/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-10-19T21:07:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fBL9ZckL.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6325932/britney-spears-madonna-kiss-vmas-2003-book/","duration":"PT3M41S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6325932/britney-spears-madonna-kiss-vmas-2003-book/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```