Britney Spears has revealed some of the backstory behind her iconic 2001 MTV Video Music Awards performance.
On Thursday, the 39-year-old pop star shared throwback photos from the awards ceremony and recalled how ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake helped calm her nerves before she hit the stage.
'Geez ... this is me before my VMAs performance with @MickJagger 20 years ago !!!!,' Britney wrote in the caption of several photos in which she was seen being interviewed alongside The Rolling Stones frontman, now 78, and posing on the red carpet.
Looking back: Britney Spears has revealed some of the backstory behind her iconic 2001 MTV Video Music Awards performance
Sweet: On Thursday, the 39-year-old pop star shared throwback photos from the awards ceremony and recalled how ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake helped calm her nerves before she hit the stage. Seen in 2001
'This is one my my favorite dresses I've ever worn and it's simple black lace !!!!' Spears said of the black long-sleeved lace Dolce & Gabbana dress that she wore over a black bra and panties set.
The outfit is considered one of the Toxic hitmaker's most memorable looks.
She continued, 'I will tell you this ... before I went on that night I was feeling kinda out of body with nerves ... I mean ... I was in a cage with a live tiger!!!!!'
Throwback: 'This is one my my favorite dresses I've ever worn and it's simple black lace !!!!' Spears said of the black long-sleeved lace Dolce & Gabbana dress that she wore over a black bra and panties set
Iconic: The outfit is considered one of the Toxic hitmaker's most memorable looks
Nervous: Britney said that she was feeling 'kind of out of boy with nerves' ahead of her performance
Reassurance: She went to say that her boyfriend at the time, Justin Timberlake, gave her a five-minute pep talk
'I will never forget the moment before I went in the cage !!!! Justin saw I could hardly talk so he held my hand and gave me a 5 minute pep talk which obviously worked!!!!!'
Britney added, 'Psssss guess I'm sleeping because my eyes are closed in half of these pics!!!!'
Ahead of the 2001 performance, Spears and Mick sat down for an interview with "MTV News.
Pre-show: Ahead of the 2001 performance, Spears and Mick sat down for an interview with MTV News
Sneak peek: Britney told Mick and MTV host Kurt Loder 'I'm being very brave tonight. So it's very interesting'
'My goal for this performance is not to just not to fall!' She told host Kurt Loder with a laugh.
She went on to say, 'I'm being very brave tonight. So it's very interesting.'
'You're being very brave?' Jagger asked. 'Very brave!' Britney replied.
'How is that going to be?' Mick responded.
Spears teased, 'You will see!'
Wild: In the jaw-dropping performance, Britney performed her hit song I'm A Slave 4 U alongside a caged tiger with a seven foot long python draped around her shoulders. Pictured in 2001
Love in the spotlight: At the time, Spears was engaged in a high-profile romance with Timberlake, now 40. Seen in 2001
In the jaw-dropping performance, Britney performed her hit song I'm A Slave 4 U alongside a caged tiger with a seven foot long python draped around her shoulders.
At the time, Spears was engaged in a high-profile romance with Timberlake, now 40. The two began dating in 1998 after meeting while co-starring on The Mickey Mouse Show and confirmed their romance in 2000.
However, the relationship didn't end well, with their split in 2002 blamed on rumors that Britney was cheating on Justin.
He then used the relationship to promote his own solo career even using a Britney lookalike in the music video for his 2002 hit Cry Me A River.
In a 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, Sawyer asked Britney: 'He's gone on television and pretty much said you broke his heart, you did something that caused him so much pain. What did you do?'
Back then: The two began dating in 1998 after meeting while co-starring on The Mickey Mouse Show and confirmed their romance in 2000 (pictured in 2000)
Britney, then 21, replied: 'We're both really young. It was kind of
