Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera: Inside the Complex History Between the Two Pop Stars

Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera both came up in the late '90s and early 2000s. As fellow ex–Mickey Mouse Club members and rising teen pop stars, the two were often pitted against one another in the media, and at times, the artists have alluded to tensions simmering between them. Now, ahead of the release of Spears' memoir, The Woman in Me, Aguilera is hoping that their complicated history won't get much air time.

During Aguilera's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this week, Kimmel asked if she'll be mentioned in the book, to which Aguilera replied, "Let's put it this way, I'd rather it be you than me. So hopefully you'll be in it. You'll make the book."

She continued, "I'm hoping that everything is all good with her and everything's beautiful. The future should be celebrated." While we wait to see what Spears does or doesn't have to say about their history, here's a refresher on their shared past.

Mickey Mouse Club days

Spears and Aguilera were both cast members on the children's variety show The Mickey Mouse Club in the early '90s, alongside big names like Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling. Both pop stars have reflected fondly on this period. "It was a great time. It was probably one of the most special times in my life," Spears told Entertainment Tonight in 2018. The same year, Aguilera said, "I love those guys...it was just such a talented and special magic in the air."

Good girl vs. bad girl

After outgrowing Mickey Mouse, both Spears and Aguilera shot to pop stardom. Spears released her first single "...Baby One More Time" in September 1998, and Aguilera followed with "Genie in a Bottle" eight months later. Both songs became chart-toppers. They released their equally successful debut albums in 1999.

Spears had a wholesome image, embodying a smiley Bible Belt–born teen, while Aguilera's brand was seen as slightly more risqué. The press painted the former artist as the girl-next-door and the latter as the bad girl. "It's hard to hear yourself being called names," Aguilera told Cosmopolitan in 2018. "I remember being hurt by these commercials on MTV, pitting Britney as the good girl and me as the bad girl. It's like, if I'm going to be demure and innocent, that's okay. But if I'm going to just be myself, I'm trouble."

The VMAs kiss

Spears, Aguilera and Madonna's three-way kiss at the 2003 VMAs remains one of pop culture's most iconic moments from the last 20 years, but Aguilera is often erased from its history. During the telecast, the camera cut away after Spears and Madonna locked lips, focusing on Spears' ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake in the audience, and missing the smooch between Aguilera and the "Like a Virgin" legend.

Later that year, Aguilera told Blender that Spears was "distant" during rehearsals leading up to the awards show. "Every time I tried to start a conversation with her — well, let's just say she seemed nervous the whole time...She seems to me like a lost little girl, someone who desperate needs guidance."

Aguilera hasn't let it go. "It was weird. And you know why they cut away for it? Because they cut away to get Justin's reaction," Aguilera explained during a 2018 Radio Andy interview, "I definitely saw the newspaper the next day. It was like, 'Oh, well, I guess I got left out of that one.'"

Fighting in the press

In 2004, a year after the kiss-gone-wrong, Spears and Aguilera began fighting via press interviews. "When someone has been rude to you so many times, it’s like, 'You know what, Christina, I’m really not about the fake anymore,'" Spears said.

In an interview with Us Weekly, Aguilera dissed Spears for buying her own engagement ring and proposing to backup dancer Kevin Federline. "It looks like she got it at QVC," Aguilera said. "I know Britney. She's not trailer trash, but she sure acts that way."

Olive branches

Tensions simmered as years went by. "Britney would love to be close with Christina again," a 2005 blog post on Spears' official website read. "In fact, Britney recently wrote Christina a letter telling her how happy and beautiful Christina looks lately."

In 2008, Aguilera reflected on their friendship and rivalry in a Daily Mail interview: "When we both started releasing records, it was a funny time for me. It must have seemed as if we were competing with each other, but, in reality, Britney is someone that I used to hold hands with. We were silly little girls together on the Mickey Mouse Club. What a journey it has been for both of us!"

Conservatorship support and backlash

Aguilera spoke out around the time of Spears' conservatorship court hearing in 2021, writing on Twitter: "To a woman who has worked under conditions and pressure unimaginable to most, I promise you she deserves all of the freedom possible to live her happiest life. My heart goes out to Britney. She deserves all the TRUE love and support in the world."

But Spears responded less than favorably, claiming the singer wasn't there for her in her time of need. "13 years being in a corrupt abusive system yet why is it such a hard topic for people to talk about," Spears wrote in an Instagram story with a clip of Aguilera telling the Associated Press she "can't" speak about the conservatorship.

Social-media beef

In 2022, Spears posted a quote that said the best way to look skinny is to "hang out with fat people." The pop star followed up with an Instagram caption reading, "I mean if I had Christina Aguilera’s dancers I would have looked extremely small." Aguilera reportedly unfollowed Spears on Instagram following the post.

Spears attempted to clarify her message the next day with another Instagram post: "By no means was I being critical of Christina's beautiful body, it is what it is !!!" She continued, "To be honest, I’m not trying to be critical of anybody. What I posted is a projection of the insecurities I deal with all the time as a result of how my parents and the media have treated me … I would never intentionally body shame anybody because I know what it feels like."