I admire and look up to Madonna more than anyone

Britney Spears has said she “admires” and “looks up” to Madonna more than anybody else.

The ‘Toxic’ star posted a vintage 2003 photograph of the Queen of Pop under a warrior mask on her Instagram on Sunday (January 18), and in the caption, she singled out Madonna’s poise and independent attitude as traits that she particularly admires.

“This picture is clearly an understanding, ‘DO NOT PISS HER OFF’,” Spears wrote. “I admire and look up to Madonna more than anyone…wise, incredibly strong and has remained gentle and genius. Again…DO NOT PISS HER OFF!!!”

Turning the lens on herself, Britney also said: “The beast within…I prefer to call it the spiritual animal awakening. It’s been a long time for me…I know the wild ones more than anyone!!! Yet, we’re honestly all the same under our mask we secretly wear every day!!! Vulnerability, fragility, insanity, real innocence…but also confusion, depression, extreme hurt, anger…stuck in our heads.”

Britney and Madonna have shared some famous historical moments, most notably their iconic kiss at the 2003 MTV VMAs. During Madonna’s performance on ‘Like A Virgin’, Madonna kissed Britney on the lips, and then did the same with Christina Aguilera, and the clip became one of the most replayed moments in MTV history.

The two also collaborated on Britney’s 2003 single ‘Me Against The Music, the lead single from her album ‘In The Zone’, and they appeared together on stage again in Los Angeles in 2008 on Madonna’s ‘Sticky & Sweet’ tour.

In 2021, Madonna likened Spears’ conservatorship to “slavery”, urging people to “give this woman her life back”, while a year later, Madonna said she would love to do a world tour with Spears, so that they could re-enact the kiss. “Not sure if she’d be into it, but it would be really cool,” Madge said.

In other news, Spears vowed last week to “never perform in the US again” due to “extremely sensitive reasons”, suggesting that her next public performance could take place in the UK. She has not toured since 2018, and postponed a Las Vegas residency in 2019 before largely stepping away from music.

Her Instagram activity follows her return to the platform in November, one week after deleting her account.