The Madonna/Britney Spears Kiss Was Inspired by Michael Jackson
One of the most discussed moments of Madonna‘s career was the time she kissed Britney Spears at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. The kiss was inspired by something that Michael Jackson did. Beyond that, the two events could not be more different.
Madonna and Britney Spears were playing with Michael Jackson iconography during the kiss
Perhaps the most iconic performance of Madonna’s career was the time she sang a mashup of her songs “Like a Virgin” and “Hollywood” with Spears and Christina Aguilera. The performance started with the latter two stars performing “Like a Virgin” in wedding dresses. Then Madonna shows up in a tuxedo singing “Hollywood” and dances with the two former Disney stars and kisses both of them. In the 2000s, this sort of sapphic gender-bending was inflammatory.
During a 2004 interview with O, The Oprah Magazine, the “Like a Prayer” singer recalled what she was thinking when she kissed the “Womanizer” singer. “You remember when Michael Jackson kissed Lisa Marie Presley on the MTV awards?” she said. “Our kiss was a play on that, too. We were playing with lots of postmodern iconography. Does that sound good?”
While Madonna was known for her sexual provocations, she claimed there wasn’t anything sexual about the kiss. “In rehearsal, it was planned that I would kiss Britney and Christina,” she said. “A short, simple kiss — the whole idea was that the groom kisses the brides. But it was only meant to be playful, not anything erotic.”
Britney Spears took the kiss to another level
The kiss between Madonna and Spears garnered much more attention than the kiss between Madonna and Xtina. The Queen of Pop discussed the former kiss at length. “When Britney went to kiss me, she just went for it,” the Material Girl said. “I tried to go with it so it wouldn’t be weird. I’m a showgirl. After 20 years in show business, I’ve learned to roll with the punches.”
While the kisses proved controversial, Madonna seemed to say she was taking orders from God during the performance. “I’ve never felt more creative,” she said. “One thing I’ve learned is that I’m not the owner of my talent, I’m the manager of it. And if I learn how to manage my talent correctly — and if I accept that I’m just channeling things that come from God — the talent will keep flowing through me.”
How Madonna’s kiss was different from Michael Jackson’s
Regardless of what you think of the Madonna/Spears kiss, it wasn’t motivated by romantic love. Meanwhile, Jackson and Presley were deeply committed to each other. In his 2011 book You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through a Brother’s Eyes, Jermaine Jackson said members of his family were struck by how much Presley loved the King of Pop. She had his best interests at heart. Jermaine was happy that the two were a couple because his brother wouldn’t be so lonely.
The Madonna/Spears kiss garnered a lot of attention because it was seen as scandalous. Meanwhile, the affection between Jackson and Presley was real. While the former moment is more remembered in pop culture, the latter is, in some ways more meaningful. Regardless, both kisses became memorable moments in pop culture.
