Nobody edits out Xtina and gets away with it! This Monday, August 28 marks 20 years since one of the most enduring pop culture moments of the 21st century: when Madonna passionately kissed Britney Spears at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. In case you forgot, however, Madonna, now 65, actually smooched a second super-famous young woman live on stage at Radio City Music Hall in NYC that night: Christina Aguilera, who wore a wedding dress just like Britney and sang "Like a Virgin" as they ascended down a wedding cake, and were joined by Madonna (and later Missy Elliot) for the electric performance.
Casual viewers would be forgiven for missing the "Material Girl" singer's lip-lock with Christina, which immediately followed Madonna's mouth-to-mouth with Britney— because the cameras cut away for most of it. And Christina, now 42, didn't appreciate the slight, or being overlooked in the massive media frenzy over the instantly viral moment involving her pop rival (and former Mickey Mouse Club costar) Britney and idol Madonna.
© Getty"It was weird," the "Dirrrty" singer told Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show back in 2018. "And you know why they cut away for it? They cut away to get [Justin's] reaction." That would be Justin Timberlake, Britney's famous ex-boyfriend, from whom she had split the previous year. Justin looked tense and self-conscious as the cameras scrutinized him for a reaction. (Other stars shown reacting to the kiss included Madonna's husband Guy Ritchie, Beyonce, Kelly Osbourne, Mary J. Blige, Avril Lavigne, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and others.)
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"They were exes…it was just a cheap shot," Christina continued. The exclusion felt worse the following morning, she recalled, when headlines all over the world mentioned Madonna and Britney..but no Christina. "I definitely saw the newspaper the next day, and it was like oh, well, I guess I got left out of that."
Ultimately, however, the mom of one said she'd made peace with the situation. "Everything happened so quickly back then. It was a whirlwind," she remembered, adding that she later had her own "kickass performance" of "Fighter" with rocker Dave Navarro. "So I was okay with that. [Britney] could have her kiss."
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© GettyAccording to several MTV executives working that night's show, however, Christina and her team were extremely displeased. Tom Calderone, former executive vice president of music and talent, told Rolling Stone that her team pleaded for Christina's performance (and kiss) to be re-edited into later broadcasts, a request that was denied.
Added MTV president Van Toffler to Rolling Stone: "That caused a little bit of grief coming my way,” Toffler told Rolling Stone. “It didn’t make life easier that night. But you have to make choices in a live show. Sometimes you’re wrong and sometimes you’re right, but I think the beauty of the VMAs was the combustibility. You wanted to make it fun and semi-chaotic. That’s what we did."
