Madonna's 2003 VMAs Kiss Should've Been With Jennifer Lopez & Britney Spears, Not Christina Aguilera

According to the "Jenny From The Block" songstress, she couldn't get off of a film set in time for the award show, so they selected another famous face.

BYHayley Hynes
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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.

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.

Britney Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera perform opening act at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage)

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.

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About The Author
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.