J.Lo Almost Kissed Madonna at 2003 VMAs — And She’s Not the Only One With Receipts

In an E! News interview promoting her new film “Shotgun Wedding,” Jennifer Lopez took a moment to confirm she had originally been part of the lineup for Madonna’s iconic 2003 performance where the singer kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera on live television.

“That’s actually true,” Lopez said. “I was filming a movie in Canada, and we had met — me, [Madonna], and Britney — to do it at her home, and then I just couldn’t get off the film. So, we couldn’t do it.” Immediately, social users took very firm stances on Lopez’s statement.

The internet pulls no punches when it comes to Jennifer Lopez

Some were baffled by Lopez’s decision to reveal this in the first place, while others downright accused her of lying, for some reason. But a lot of people were also just plain nasty.

Then again, neither does Jennifer Lopez

Harsh. However, the stories about her don’t inspire a ton of sympathy, either.

Still, none of this is new information

However, for those who grew up on message boards and online gossip columns like Perez Hilton, nothing about this was breaking news. There are numerous instances of paparazzi photographing Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears leaving Madonna’s house in the weeks leading up to the performance.

And if that isn’t enough to convince you, allow us to point you to a 2012 interview where MTV president Van Toffler confirms it himself.

The Britney/Xtina feud was also an issue

“It was a long road to get to that Britney and Christina kiss, because they weren’t necessarily the first couple of people who were on the hit list,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “This may be the first time it’s revealed, but originally J. Lo was in the mix. That didn’t happen.”

He goes on to explain how drama between Britney and Xtina became a hurdle in and of itself. “The thing about Britney and Madonna was they had history, so it was not easy to get them together on the stage.”

Ultimately, he said, the singers put their differences aside. “Both Britney and Christina obviously respected Madonna, so only she could pull that off. You have to have that kind of pull,” Toffler said.

The lineup was almost completely different

Originally, Madonna wanted Jennifer Lopez, who was shooting a movie, and Pink, who backed out during rehearsals. Buzzfeed also points out how Lopez was very publicly dating Ben Affleck at the time. The pair was in the process of planning their wedding before an untimely split in 2004.

However, the nuptial-themed performance could have really used someone who was about to get married.

Some good did come from the last-minute lineup changes. Justin Timberlake’s death glare is one for the books as he watches his girlfriend Britney Spears kiss someone else while millions of people watch.

Actually, Xtina has a bit of beef about that moment. The camera cuts away from the stage when it’s her turn to kiss Madonna, setting its sights on Timberlake’s existential crisis, instead.

“I saw the newspaper the next day and it was like, ‘Oh — well I guess I got left out of that one,'” Xtina said to Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show, Radio Andy. “It was a kickass performance, so I was okay with that. She can have her kiss, it’s okay.”