Britney Spears Explains Why She Brought A Live Snake at The 2001 VMAs

Perhaps one of the most iconic performances of Britney Spears was her "I'm A Slave For U" at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Since then, her performances have become one of the best television moments to date, even being considered a pop culture moment for many.

Now, in the excerpt from her memoir, "The Woman In Me," Spears revealed in detail what she felt during the performance and what happened before it.

Britney Spears Snake Live Performance At The VMAs

According to Britney Spears' memoir, "The Woman In Me," it was already decided that she would use a snake as a prop when she performs "I'm A Slave 4 U" at the VMAs.

While she looked very composed and comfortable on-screen and onstage, it was "more terrifying" than it appeared.

"All I knew was to look down, because I felt if I looked up and caught its eye, it would kill me," she recalled.

Spears also divulged what was going on in her head during the rather thrilling performance.

"In my head I was saying, Just perform, just use your legs and perform. But what nobody knows is that as I was singing, the snake brought its head right around to my face, right up to me, and started hissing," Spears shared. "I was thinking, Are you f---ing serious right now? The f---ing goddamn snake's tongue is flicking out at me. Right. Now. Finally, I got to the part where I handed it back, thank God."

Apparently, this wasn't the first time that Spears talked about the reptilian performance.

Britney Spears Snake Performance Her Favorite?

In an Instagram post back in September 2023, Spears recalled that the scary performance was also her favorite one so far. (via People Magazine)

"One of my favorite performances was with an albino python I still remember how scared I felt when I was handed this snake and took the stage !!! I talked more about this performance and other favorites in my book #TheWomanInMe," she teased at the time.

Spears' memoir, which was shared with People Magazine, was a bombshell revelation of what happened to the Pop Princess during her controversial conservatorship and all the things that were untold during the time of her reclusion from society.

According to the publication, it is now available for pre-order before its actual release on Oct. 24, 2023. Academy Award winner Michelle Williams will be narrating the said memoir in an audiobook, which will also be available on the date of the release.

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Britney Spears