Entertainment Awards Shows and Events VMAs Britney Spears Says She Was Confused by Sabrina Carpenter 'Kissing an Alien' at the VMAs but Says, 'I Love Her to Death' Carpenter paid tribute to Spears during her VMAs performance with references to "Oops!...I Did It Again" By Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis is a senior writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 12, 2024 03:35PM EDT Comments Britney Spears; Sabrina Carpenter at the VMAs. Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Britney Spears is a fan of Sabrina Carpenter’s short — and sweet! — tribute to her at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards. Carpenter, 25, performed a medley of her current hits at the VMAs on Wednesday, Sept. 11, including “Please Please Please,” “Espresso” and “Taste” — and included the iconic spoken interlude from Spears’ classic “Oops!...I Did It Again” in the background. The pop star’s stage, which included astronauts and aliens, was also a tribute to Spears, whose music video for “Oops!” featured a journey to Mars. Though Spears, 42, said in an Instagram video on Sept. 12 that she didn’t watch the VMAs, she did catch Carpenter’s performance on YouTube. And though she questioned the singer’s onstage smooch with an alien, she was honored. “Why is she kissing an alien onstage? I adore her. I love her to death. I didn’t understand that part. Why didn’t she kiss a girl?” Spears said, likely a reference to her famous 2003 VMAs kiss with Madonna. “That was weird. But I also thought that the whole thing was kind of weird altogether.” Sabrina Carpenter performing at the MTV VMAs in New York on Sept. 11, 2024. Johnny Nunez/Getty Sabrina Carpenter Makes Out with an Alien and Pays Tribute to Britney Spears During 2024 MTV VMAs Performance Debut The “Toxic” singer said that after watching, she “took a really long bath” and did some coloring, a favorite hobby of hers at the moment. “This Sabrina girl, she said my name on the red carpet, and I thought that was kind of cool, because I forget I’m famous sometimes,” said Spears. “Because I’m a mom, I’m kind of old, blah blah blah. But that was kind of cool… She said something and I was like, ‘Thanks, that’s cool.’ She made me cool!” Carpenter, whose viral hit “Espresso” took home the win for song of the year, also paid homage to Madonna at the VMAs, wearing the same sparkly white dress that the Queen of Pop wore to the Oscars in 1991. Tate McRae; Britney Spears at the 2001 VMAs. Getty (2) Sabrina Carpenter’s 2024 MTV VMAs Hair Was Inspired by Pop Royalty and Involved 6 Hours of Bang Prep Other artists also paid tribute to Spears throughout the night, including host Megan Thee Stallion, who recreated the famous “I’m a Slave 4 U” outfit from the 2001 VMAs — giant python and all. “Stop the music, stop the music!” Megan yelled as the snake curled around her shoulders. “I’m just playin’! Come get this snake! I don’t know this snake, this snake don’t know me. Oh my God. I tried to hold it down for Britney.” Performer Halsey also revealed that her all-time favorite VMAs moment was the kiss between Spears and Madonna, and Tate McRae rocked a lacy minidress that appeared to be a recreation of Spears’ red carpet look from the 2001 VMAs. Close