From Megan Thee Stallion to Sabrina Carpenter, the 2024 VMAs were full of Britney Spears tributes

Of all the pop stars in the world, who could rule the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards without being nominated for any awards or even setting foot on the premises? That would be Britney Spears, bh.

This year's awards on Wednesday (September 11) were full of tributes big and small to the 43-year-old pop icon, from references to Spears' most legendary performances to subtle nods to her music videos and fashion. The most immediate example was when host Megan Thee Stallion stepped out in the famous green bra and blue skirt worn by the superstar at the same ceremony 23 years ago while performing “I'm a Slave 4 U,” with a yellow . snake around her shoulders.

But while the Brit was able to look completely cool and collected while singing with a 7-foot albino Burmese python on her shoulders in 2001, the Houston rapper was far less calm. “I don't know this snake, this snake doesn't know me,” Meg said nervously, ordering her crew to immediately remove the reptile from her. “My God! I tried to keep it down for Britney.”

The “WAP” musician's ordeal with the snake was even funnier considering the reptilian theme of her latest album Megan — which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 — and his hit singles “Hiss,” “Boa” and “Cobra.” It might make her feel better to know that secretly, Spears was also afraid of her non-human partner in 2001, with the “Toxic” singer. tweeting in 2023, “I still remember how scared I was when they gave me that snake and I went on stage!!!”

At the same VMAs where Brit sang 'I'm a Slave 4 U', she also wore a sheer, lace Dolce & Gabbana mini dress on the red carpet. Twenty-three years later, another pop star wore an almost identical look to the 2024 event: Tate McRae, who also took issue with fans comparing her to Spears.

“I honestly take it as a compliment,” he said The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet before the show. “I think she's one of the most incredible performers of the 2000s. I remember watching her as a kid all the time.”

Spears' impact was also evident in Sabrina Carpenter's performance later that night, with the latter playing an audio clip of the former's spacey “Oops!…I Did It Again.” music video in the transition between her Billboard Hot 100 hit “Please Please Please” and new single “Taste.” Additionally, Carpenter at one point pulled in a female dancer dressed as an alien for a sensual kiss, continuing a tradition established by Spears' culture-shocking performance with Madonna on stage at the 2003 VMAs.

Check out the ways Britney Spears was honored at the 2024 VMAs below.