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00:00At the time, gay marriage was illegal.
00:02But that didn't stop Madonna from having her two brides on stage for the 2003 VMAs.
00:07Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, no less.
00:09For many in the gay community, this was a huge deal.
00:13Did this make me gay?
00:14While it was supposed to be this big tabloid moment,
00:18I think it actually did mean a lot for people.
00:20There were no lesbian icons other than Ellen and Rosie O'Donnell.
00:28And no doubt it was a big deal for Britney and Christina,
00:30who were performing with and kissing their icon.
00:33It's freaking Madonna, man.
00:35Both women grew up idolizing Madonna.
00:37This is seriously something I've dreamt about since I was a little girl.
00:39Because Madonna, I mean, anybody kisses Madonna creates some hype.
00:42In Britney's recent memoir, she said that Madonna,
00:44who she references 18 times throughout the book,
00:47was her childhood icon, who became her mentor
00:49after Justin Timberlake publicly accused her of cheating on him.
00:52Meanwhile, Christina has said that Madonna's albums,
00:55along with her documentary, Truth or Dare, were a huge inspiration.
00:58But not everyone was a fan of this tantalizing trios.
01:02As the New York Post puts it,
01:07The New York Post, having interviewed those sitting in the front row
01:10during the performance,
01:11helpfully confirmed that there definitely was tongue.
01:16And conservative pockets of America,
01:18along with even a few famous women, took issue.
01:20Hasn't anyone ever seen two girls kiss before?
01:23Stevie Nicks called it the most obnoxious moment in television history.
01:27She also said that Madonna was too old to be kissing 22-year-olds.
01:31Bette Midler said it was irresponsible,
01:32while The Washington Post said it
01:36This was, of course, back in the day when the public could still be shocked.
01:39We were yet to see Lady Gaga showing up to the VMAs in a raw meat dress
01:43or Miley Cyrus doing this.
01:45At the time, the producers knew it would be a big moment,
01:48so deliberately started the show a few minutes late.
01:51And during the dress rehearsal,
01:53Madonna ordered everyone out of the theater
01:55so that no one would leak the details.
01:57The kiss has been widely reported and parodied,
01:59once by Kylie Jenner,
02:01and notably by drag queen Derrick Burry,
02:03with Madonna herself.
02:07Although sadly, no one ever seems to dress up as Christina.
02:14If there was anything truly wrong with this iconic moment,
02:17it was probably the treatment that Christina received.
02:20I didn't even remember she was in it.
02:23MTV didn't actually air Christina kissing Madonna.
02:26Instead, they did an instant pan towards Britney's ex,
02:29Justin Timberlake's blank face,
02:31the moment after her and Madonna locked lips.
02:33Justice for Christina.
02:34They cut away to get Justin's reaction.
02:36They were exes, but still it was just like a cheap shot.
02:39Back then, cheap shots were everywhere.
02:41The era was rife with controversy.
02:44In fact, having Britney and Christina on stage together
02:46was a controversy in itself.
02:48There was alleged conflict between the pair,
02:50since Christina had just finished touring with Britney's ex.
02:53They also both had plenty of alleged enemies among the crowd.
02:56Britney had Justin Timberlake and Avril Lavigne,
02:58while Christina had Eminem.
03:00All of these people's reactions in the crowd were duly captured.
03:03Although personally, my favorite reaction was this one.
03:05But yes, Justin's face won the drama contest.
03:08It's completely understandable that Christina was upset.
03:11She shared secondhand saliva with her alleged enemy,
03:14and for what?
03:15To be parred by MTV.
03:17According to Rolling Stone,
03:18her team actually tried to have more of her kiss
03:20edited into the footage for future viewers.
03:22Christina was treated like a footnote.
03:24She wasn't even the first person in mind for this role.
03:27MTV asked JLo first, but she was busy.
03:29However, you can't deny that her powerful live vocals
03:32helped make the performance.
03:34So, it was Britney and Madonna who took center stage.
03:36Britney went on to produce a single with the Queen of Pop,
03:39as rumors began stirring of something romantic between them.
03:42Although both women are gay icons,
03:44Madonna is the only one to come out as bisexual,
03:46and it would appear that her and Brit were always just friends.
03:49Back in 2003,
03:51accounts of which Pop Diva really pushed for the kiss were varied.
03:54According to the VMA's producers,
03:56the kiss was Madonna's idea.
03:57Although, Madonna claimed that it was Britney's idea to open her mouth.
04:00You know lemon, you make lemonade.
04:02If someone comes at you with their lips slightly parted,
04:04you have to kiss them.
04:07Of course, by the time the performance was over,
04:09the whole of conservative America's mouth was wide open too.