On This Day in 2001, Britney Spears Hit the VMAs Stage With an Enormous Python

The year was 2001. It was one of the greatest years for pop music, and the MTV Video Music Awards certainly reflected that. While performing an insanely good show at the VMAs that year, Britney Spears debuted her new single, “I’m A Slave 4 U”, and brought out an unlikely co-star: a large yellow Burmese python. 

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Spears also performed with a live tiger, but unfortunately, that secondary co-star didn’t get as much attention as the giant snake that Spears toted around the stage. The snake, about seven feet long, draped over Spears’ shoulders as she continued her routine.

Britney Spears’ debut of “I’m A Slave 4 U” could have been a flop, as debuting a new single at the VMAs has historically been a bad idea. But Britney Spears figured out how to do it right, and the song, coupled with the python performance and wild dance routine, turned the song into an almost immediate hit.

Naturally, Spears made headlines following the performance, complete with snake-related puns. I can remember “Hiss Me Baby, One More Time,” but I’m sure there were others.

Britney Spears’ Stage Partner, a Large Yellow Python, Was the Subject of Much Internet Speculation for Years

After the early 2000s had passed and nostalgia started to set into the minds of aging Britney Spears fans everywhere (including myself), some fans of the 2001 VMAs performance began to wonder whatever happened to that big ol’ yellow python. 

One MTV News writer in 2016 attempted to find Banana and tracked down a snake trainer who allegedly owned the python used in the 2001 performance. The snake, which trainer Michael Hano claimed did not actually have a name, is an albino Burmese python that the trainer noted was still alive at the time of that interview. 

In fact, he claimed that the snake was even bigger at that point. Which, to any fan of reptiles, makes perfect sense. Despite the size of the snake at the time of Spears’ VMAs performance, it’s clear that the python was actually a juvenile snake. Funnily enough, the trainer had never listened to Spears’ music ahead of the performance.

It’s not clear in 2025 if Banana is still alive and kicking (slithering?), but their icon status remains as one of the most famous pop culture animals of all time.

Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect