She might not have been on the guestlist, but this year’s VMAs still really belonged to Britney Spears.
This year marked the 40th anniversary of the annual MTV awards show, and clearly everyone was in a nostalgic mood, as references to Britney came in thick and fast over the course of the evening.
It all started on the red carpet, where Canadian singer Tate McRae paid homage to one of the chart-topping star’s past looks with her own outfit.
During the ceremony, the event’s host Megan Thee Stallion referenced Britney’s iconic I’m A Slave 4 U moment when she presented a segment while holding a snake (although it has to be said that the chart-topping rapper kept her cool a lot less well than Britney did).
Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter’s performance featured a sample of the spoken-word section of Oops! I Did It Again, while even the moment she smooched a sexy space alien could be interpreted as an homage to Britney’s own lip-lock with Madonna back in 2003.
Addison Rae was also full of love for the pop superstar while being interviewed on the red carpet, claiming that her favourite VMAs moment was “every single time Britney came out and performed”.
To mark the VMAs’ 40th birthday, a special award was introduced for this year’s event, celebrating the awards show’s Most Iconic Performance ever.
Britney did scoop a nomination for her famous collaboration with Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott, although her I’m A Slave 4 U performance was a curious omission, particularly taking into account that it was referenced during the ceremony.
In the end, Katy Perry’s Roar was the unexpected winner of the Most Iconic Performance award, with the singer also picking up the Video Vanguard title during the ceremony.