Jennifer Lopez Confirms She Was Supposed to Be Part of Madonna & Britney Spears’ Iconic VMAs Kiss

Remember when the Queen of Pop kissed the Princess of Pop at the VMAs? Turns out, Madonna and Britney Spears‘ iconic awards show performance moment was actually supposed to include someone else who’s pop music royalty: Jennifer Lopez.

In a new interview with E! News ahead of the Jan. 27 streaming release of Shotgun Wedding, her upcoming Prime Video film with Josh Duhamel, J Lo confirmed rumors that she’d originally been tapped for Madonna’s headline-making musical performance at the 2003 Video Music Awards. She also explained why she ended up not doing the show, which resulted in Christina Aguilera stepping in to fill her shoes.

“Yes, that is actually true,” Lopez said. “I was filming a movie in Canada. We had met — me, her and Britney — to do it, at [Madonna’s] home. I just couldn’t get off the film, so we couldn’t do it. Then they got Christina Aguilera, I think, to do it.”

The revelation came after E! asked Lopez what her favorite karaoke song is, at which point she started singing Madge’s 1984 smash “Like a Virgin.” What’s Duhamel’s go-to, you ask? “Neon Moon” by Brooks & Dunn.

“I didn’t wind up doing it, but yeah, we had talked about it,” she added. “I love Madonna, I’m a huge fan, I always have been.”

Billboard has reached out to the VMAs for comment.

For those in need of a refresher, The Kiss went down during a group performance of Madonna’s “Hollywood” at the VMAs. Right before the song transitioned into a guest appearance from Missy Elliott, Madonna exchanged a sultry kiss with Brit, then turned to her other side and did the same with Christina. Had Lopez been able to do the show, it would’ve been her getting smooched by the Material Girl instead.

Though Madonna kissed both ladies onstage with her, it was her moment with Spears that solidified itself as pop culture history — likely due in part to the exceptionally-timed camera cut to a stony-looking Justin Timberlake, who’d broken up with Spears the year prior. Flash forward to 2022, and the “Toxic” singer and Madonna recreated the lip-lock at Brit’s wedding to Sam Asghari.

See Jennifer Lopez talk about the VMAs performance that didn’t come to be below: