‘I’m just playing’: Megan Thee Stallion recreated an iconic Britney moment at the VMAs and immediately regretted it

When it comes to the ever-evolving music industry, it’s certainly no secret that genre superstars continuously try to outdo their previous performances and take their talent to the next level on stage. So when rap artist Megan Thee Stallion looked to recreate an iconic Britney Spears performance, all eyes were glued on the “Savage” singer.

While entertaining the world as a vibrant host, the Suga artist decided to recreate Spears’ eye-catching performance from the 2001 VMAs, when Spears placed a large python on her shoulders as she memorably delivered a rendition of “I’m A Slave 4 U” on live television. From there, the moment became one of the most notable in the history of the VMAs, so naturally, Stallion sought to restore the challenge for modern-day music fans.

Unfortunately, Stallion might have bitten off just a little more than she could chew, which is understandable given the fact there was a large python curling around her body-ody-ody live on TV with intentions that none of us truly know. After all, wild animals are considered to be wild for a reason, and Stallion was quick to pick up on that intuition.

With “I’m A Slave 4 U” playing in the background, Stallion quickly shifted from relatively overjoyed and adventurous to feeling startled, yelling out for producers of the show to “stop the music” and that she was “just playing” in regards to actually performing a song with a python wrapped around her arms. “I don’t know this snake, this snake don’t know me,” the award-winning rapper exclaimed as she subsequently screamed while a stagehand removed the snake from her arms.

The moment in itself is hilarious, of course, but it’s Stallion’s undeniable charisma and charm that add a certain flavor and campiness to the entire ordeal as she visibly squirms during the live broadcast, obviously grossed out by having a snake crawling on her arms.

Luckily, the stunt proved to be relatively harmless, and one could likely assume that it was a trained snake handled by a professional tamer backstage — but the embodiment of “Hot Girl Summer” definitely wasn’t looking to take any risks. After all, the live audience back in 2001 was noticeably stunned while Spears paraded around the stage with the python around her upper body so it was probably in Stallion’s best interest to cut the encounter short.

Nevertheless, the gut-busting encounter proved to be a major moment in a night full of divine highlights and memories — especially for Swifties all across the nation who were watching at home and cheering on the latest Kamala Harris endorser.