Pop icon Britney Spears has raised eyebrows over Sabrina Carpenter’s performance at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), specifically questioning a kiss shared onstage with an actor dressed as an alien. Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Spears shared her thoughts, calling the moment ‘weird’.

In a video posted to her Instagram, Britney Spears addressed the viral moment from Carpenter’s space-themed performance, which featured a kiss with an individual in an alien costume. Though she did not watch the VMAs live, Spears explained she had come across footage of the performance online.

“Did you guys watch the VMAs?” Spears asked in her video. “I didn’t watch the VMAs, but I did see stuff on my phone from YouTube of Sabrina Carpenter. 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? Like, that was weird. But I also thought that, like, the whole thing was kind of, like, weird altogether.”

Despite her confusion over the alien kiss, Spears expressed her admiration for Carpenter. In the same video, she noted that Carpenter had mentioned her during the event. “This Sabrina girl, she said my name on the red carpet, and I thought that was kind of cool,” Spears said.

“Because I forget I’m famous sometimes. I’m a mom, I’m kind of old, blah-blah-blah, but that was kind of cool. The Sabrina girl Carpenter, she said something about my music. That’s cool. She made me cool. OK, maybe not.”

The 2024 VMAs performance by Carpenter drew comparisons to Spears’ own history-making moments at the event. Fans were quick to point out that Britney herself was part of one of the VMAs’ most famous kisses in 2003 when she shared a kiss with Madonna during a performance with Christina Aguilera. Sabrina Carpenter has also been involved in a notable kiss in her music career, having shared an on-screen kiss with Jenna Ortega in the music video for her song Taste.

In a nod to Spears’ legacy, the 2024 VMAs also featured several tributes to her iconic moments, including Megan Thee Stallion’s outfit, which echoed Britney’s memorable 2001 performance with a live python.