Madonna & Britney's VMAs Kiss Was Supposed To Include J.Lo, Not Xtina

It’s hard to define pop culture without mentioning that infamous kiss between Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 VMAs. This smooch was such a moment, largely because they were the main pop girls at the time. However, it turns out that performance was supposed to look a little different— but still feel iconic, of course. How different? Well, it almost included a cameo from Jennifer Lopez.

On Jan. 17, Lopez and Josh Duhamel spoke with E! News about their upcoming rom-com film, Shotgun Wedding. Around the minute mark of the interview, E! News correspondent Justin Sylvester asked Lopez what her favorite karaoke song is. She responded by singing Madonna’s “Like A Virgin,” at which Sylvester asked if the rumors about her originally being part of Madonna’s performance were true.

“Yes, that is actually true,” Lopez said. “I was filming a movie in Canada. We had met — me, [Madonna] and Britney — to do it, at [Madonna’s] home. I just couldn’t get off the film, so we couldn’t do it.” OK, but could you imagine if this lineup actually happened instead?

For context, Madonna performed a medley of her hits at the 2003 awards show. Spears and Aguilera then suddenly graced the stage to help Madonna perform “Hollywood” and “Like A Virgin.” While cooing her verse from “Hollywood,” Madonna turned to give Britney a kiss and did the same with Aguilera shortly thereafter.

This was certainly a jaw-dropping moment; however, the true gag-worthy headline came when the cameras panned on Justin Timberlake’s stone-cold expression. At the time, Spears and Timberlake had broken up the year prior and the aftermath of their split was quite messy (ahem, “Cry Me A River.”)

In the interview, Lopez revealed that Aguilera was picked for the performance instead. “Then they got Christina Aguilera, I think, to do it. I didn’t wind up doing it, but we talked about it,” she said, later flaunting her Madonna stan card. “I love Madonna. I’m a huge fan, always have been.”

That performance is an awards show mainstay, so it’s perplexing to imagine Lopez in place of Aguilera. Then again, it’s not too hard to visualize since Lopez was growing into the performer she is today during that era. Come to think of it, MTV might’ve been onto something with this idea. Just the thought of “Jenny From The Block” pulsing during Lopez's hypothetical set is groundbreaking.

Also, that infamous kiss is still a climactic moment to this day. During Spears’ wedding to husband Sam Asghari in 2022, she and Madonna recreated the kiss. At this point, is it too late to make this J.Lo, Madonna, and Spears moment happen?