Britney Spears showered praise on Madonna in a January 2026 Instagram post, dropping a stunning image of the Queen of Pop from a 2003 photoshoot. The image features Madonna in a striking red headpiece dripping with jewels, her face mostly obscured by more jewels, but with her eyes piercing through to the viewer.
The photo was part of an exhibition by photographer Steven Klein called “X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS.” It pulled photos from a shoot with W magazine and several video clips. Madonna used parts of the exhibit during her 2004 “Re-Invention” tour and again during her 2023 “Celebration” tour.
Spears, meanwhile, shared her love for Madonna with a lengthy caption. “The beast within,” she wrote. “I prefer to call it the spiritual animal awakening. It’s been a long time for me … I know the wild ones more than anyone !!! Yet, we’re honestly all the same under our mask we secretly wear every day !!!”
Britney Spears Shares Admiration for Stunning Image of Madonna, Who Has Often Supported Her
Britney Spears continued her post, writing, “Vulnerability, fragility, insanity, real innocence … but also confusion, depression, extreme hurt, anger … stuck in our heads. We go through all of these and sometimes the spiritual animal is the only way to cross to the other side … it’s the most unknown powerful existence there is, yet it’s usually defined as ‘dangerous’ !!!”
At the conclusion of her artistic interpretation, Spears specifically praised Madonna. She wrote, “I admire and look up to Madonna more than anyone … wise, incredibly strong and has remained gentle and genius.”
Madonna has long been a Britney Spears supporter, including when Spears was trapped in her conservatorship. They first collaborated on the track “Me Against the Music” in 2003. After that, Madonna spoke up for Spears several times.
“Give this woman her life back,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories in 2021, at the height of Spears’ legal battles. She included a photo of herself wearing an old-school Britney t-shirt, per a report from People. “Slavery was abolished long ago! Death to the greedy patriarchy that has been doing this to women for centuries. This is a violation of human rights!”
In 2025, Madonna gave a subtle tribute to Spears on social media. She shared photos on Instagram Stories of herself in New York City wearing a Balenciaga-branded Britney Spears t-shirt. She captioned the image with the iconic tagline, “It’s Britney Bitch!”
Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images
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