All the references to Britney Spears at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards

Spears wasn't there in person, but her impact on the VMAs and music at large were deeply felt.

Britney Spears is the undisputed queen of the MTV Video Music Awards, and at tonight's ceremony, several high-profile nominees referenced some iconic looks and moments from her career.

First up was Tate McRae, who walked the red carpet in a pitch-perfect recreation of Spears' memorable Dolce & Gabana look from the 2001 VMAs. Barring a few alterations - Spears's ensemble was navy blue, McRae's black; Spears opted for bando-style shorts, McRae an edgier undergarment - the resemblance was unmistakeable.

McRae and Spears have frequently been grouped together in the news recently, among the fervent fan-casting of the upcoming Britney Spears biopic. McRae stands out among other contenders like Sydney Sweeney and Dove Cameron because of her excellent, Britney-esque dance chops.

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Megan Thee Stallion took on tonight's hosting duties, and was the next artist to reference Spears. In between performances, Megan showed up in an exact replica of Spears' iconic "I'm A Slave 4 U" performance ensemble from the 2001 VMAs.

She even donned a giant albino python around her shoulders, as Spears did in the middle of her 2001 performance. "Okay! Okay! Stop the music!" Stallion joked, with more than a little real fear in her voice. "I'm just playin', come get the snake," she pleaded. "I don't know the snake, the snake don't know me."

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"I tried to hold it down for Britney," she said, acknowledging that she asked for the snake removal after only a few seconds, where Spears walked a full circle of the stage with it wrapped around her arms.

Finally, Sabrina Carpenter celebrated her first round of VMA nominations with a fittingly space-operatic medley of her Short & Sweet hits, "Espresso," "Please Please Please," and "Taste." At the beginning of the performance, she made another Britney reference.

Carpenter staged an allusion to Spears' iconic music video for "Oops... I Did It Again" after descending from the ceiling in a diamond-shaped seat. Before moving from "Please Please Please" into "Taste," Carpenter looked back at an astronaut with his hand outstretched while a line of dialogue from the "Oops" video played faintly over the track.

"Aw, you shouldn't have," Spears could be heard saying. Carpenter then veered into campier territory than Spears's original, ditching the astronaut for an alien in a white minidress, kissing it, then pushing it off stage.

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One more Spears reference came on the red carpet, but it wasn't sartorial, rather a name check by Addison Rae. "My favorite VMAs looks of all time are probably every time Britney Spears came on and performed." She specifically shouted out Spears' rendition of the Rolling Stones song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," which she performed in a medley with "Oops" at the 2000 VMAs.

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