Britney Spears finally admits her iconic live python performance was 'dumb'

The pop singer shocked audiences at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2001

Britney Spears danced with the snake draped around her neck while singing 'I'm a Slave 4 U' (Getty Images)

Britney Spears has admitted that her iconic performance with a live python at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards was “dumb”.

The pop singer, now 34, took to the stage with the snake wrapped around her neck to perform her raunchy hit “I’m a Slave 4 U”. Fortunately, the show finished without a hitch, but Spears has made it clear that she will never try such a dangerous stunt again.

“It’s insane! Why did I do that? It’s so dumb!” she told E! News, before replying “hell no” when asked if a repeat is likely.

Spears is currently busy promoting her new single “Make Me” with rapper G-Eazy, set for release in July ahead of her first new album since 2011’s Femme Fatale. David LaChapelle has directed the video, which judging by an Instagram teaser features Spears wearing a skimpy black leotard, surrounded by topless male dancers.

“I’ve been working on this project for a year and a half now, almost two years so it really means a lot to me,” she said of her ninth album. “It’s my baby. It’s a little melodic, a little more not so poppy. It’s kind of chill. Very chill.”

2018 will mark the 20th anniversary of her 1998 debut hit “…Baby One More Time”, a milestone Spears says makes her feel “so old”.