How Madonna And Britney Spears' VMAs Kiss Came To Be

The Story Behind Madonna And Britney Spears' VMAs Kiss
Britney Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera perform opening act at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage)
Britney Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera perform opening act at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage)

When Madonna kissed Britney Spears on stage at the 2003 VMAs, the world erupted. Soon it became one of the most iconic images in MTV award show history. In a recent interview with Billboard, Spears' longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, spoke about the story behind the kiss.

“Madonna had been very, very, very rigid about the rehearsals," he said. "She was telling Britney and I every day, ‘Be here tomorrow at 10 o'clock.' She would never address me by name, she would just say, 'You, make sure Britney's here tomorrow at 10 o'clock.' And I would say, 'Okay.' You don't want to upset her."

Just after the kiss Rudolph ran into Madonna in the elevator at Radio City Hall. "She came right up to me first," he said. "She put her arms around my waist and she gave me a big kiss on the lips and said, 'You see Larry? It was all worth it.'" Watch the whole interview below.

Before You Go

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