Britney Spears moments before panic sparked by ex Justin Timberlake at VMAs

25 October 2023 , 07:51

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Britney Spears performed at the VMAs in 2007, with it being branded as 'shambolic' - but dress rehearsals told another story

Britney Spears has revealed that running into Justin Timberlake before her 2007 VMAs performance left her having a panic attack and putting on a less-than-perfect performance, with an unearthed clip also showing she performed better in rehearsals.

The 41-year-old hitmaker released her tell-all bombshell memoir, The Woman In Me, yesterday. Revealing a number of bombshells like how she had an abortion after falling pregnant with ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake's baby and how she was forced to pick up rubbish on the street after losing her virginity at 14, the singer has also lifted the lid on how she felt at the VMAs back in 2007.

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(Bruno Kauling/Youtube)

An unearthed clip of the star's dress rehearsals for the 2007 performance shows Britney pulling off a flawless routine, which came shortly before she stormed the stage for a less-than-perfect performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, and now the reason behind this has been revealed. Shared on YouTube two years ago, the videos provide more background after Britney spoke of the performance in her memoir.

In her new book, Britney revealed an awkward backstage run-in with ex Justin Timberlake before her performance. In her memoir she penned: "It had been a while since I’d seen him. Everything was going great in his world.

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(Bruno Kauling/Youtube)

"He was at the top of his game in every way, and he had a lot of swagger. I was having a panic attack. I hadn’t rehearsed enough. I hated the way I looked. I knew it was going to be bad."

But before the main performance and bumping into Justin, Britney's rehearsal went really well. With the clip circulating online, fans have said that the rehearsal was "better than the final performance", while someone else penned: "I cannot wait to hear her story behind this performance now that she’s free to speak. Something definitely happened between the rehearsal and the actual performance."

(Bruno Kauling/Youtube)

Recalling the night of the performance, Britney wrote in her memoir: "There was a problem with my costume and with my hair extensions. I hadn’t slept the night before. I was dizzy. It was less than a year since I’d had my second baby in two years but everyone was acting like my not having six-pack abs was offensive.

"I couldn’t believe I was going to have to go out onstage feeling the way I felt."

She went on: "I went out there and did the best I could at that moment in time, which — yes, granted — was far from my best at other times. I could see myself on video throughout the auditorium while I performed; it was like looking at myself in a fun-house mirror."

Mollie Quirk