Was It Cruel of MTV to Make Britney Follow Beyoncé?

Britney Spears at the VMAs Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV

On her worst day — let’s say, bedridden with a nasty case of pinkeye — Beyoncé is a tough act to follow. Tonight at the VMAs, during which she literally set the stage on fire performing a searing, awe-inspiring 15-minute Lemonade medley, the only appropriate response would have been for everyone in the building to pack up their stuff and go home.

Unfortunately, those sick bastards at MTV had a different idea, choosing to follow Queen Bey’s performance not with some lesser act, but with none other than Britney Spears herself. Once a fixture of the ceremony, Brit was scheduled to make her historic comeback after a fraught nine-year hiatus from the VMA stage, and, well, they couldn’t have given her a tougher time slot to do it in.

To Brit’s credit, she did fine! Absolutely fine. Sure, G-Eazy looks like the kind of guy you wouldn’t want to be cornered by at a party, and the shadow-hands will haunt our nightmares for weeks to come, but it was no 2007, and she looked like she was having fun. Which is really the most important thing, right?

Was It Cruel of MTV to Make Britney Follow Beyoncé?