Madonna to perform at VMAs for first time since famous kiss with Britney Spears
Madonna’s kiss with Britney Spears at the 2003 MTV VMAs was beamed around the world. (Getty)
Madonna is set to take to the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) later this month, in her first performance at the ceremony since her famous kiss with Britney Spears 23 years ago.
The Queen of Pop, 68, will open the ceremony in Los Angeles on 27 September, just as she did in 2003 when she locked lips with pop princesses Britney and Christina Aquilera in 2003, outraging conservatives at the time.
The headline-generating kiss came during the trio’s performance of “Hollywood” and “Like a Virgin”, which saw Madonna dressed as a groom and Britney and Christina as brides.
As well as performing, Madonna will be hoping to win her first MTV VMA in 27 years after being nominated in 11 categories, the most of any artist this year.
The musical icon and longtime LGBTQ+ ally released her 15th studio album, Confessions II, to her best reviews in 20 years. The record serves as an audio sequel to 2005’s gay club dancefloor-filler Confessions on a Dancefloor and hit Number One on both sides of the Atlantic.
A vocal advocate of LGBTQ+ rights in the 1980s during the height of her fame and the emerging AIDS Crisis, Madonna has spent her five-decade-long career championing LGBTQ+ equality – including being fined $1 million dollars for making a pro-LGBTQ+ speech on stage in Russia in 2012 (in typical diva fashion, she refused pay it.
After being honoured with the Advocate for Change award at the 2019 GLAAD Awards, the singer declared: “Why have I always fought for change? That’s a hard question to answer. It’s like trying to explain the importance of reading or the need to love.”
