Britney Spears’ ‘Slave 4 U’ VMAs designer reveals the terrifying detail that had him secretly worried (EXCLUSIVE)

Who wasn’t obsessed with Britney Spears in the early 2000s? It was one of her most glittering eras: a growing relationship with Justin Timberlake, world domination and the release of her self-titled third studio album, Britney, and its lead single, ‘I’m a Slave 4 U,’ in 2001.

And then came that performance. The song cemented its place in pop culture history when Spears took to the stage at the 2001 VMAs to perform ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ alongside real-life tigers, a cage and a living seven-foot-long albino Burmese python draped over her shoulders. On 6 September 2001, in New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, Spears changed the game.

Behind the scenes, Ray Winkler, CEO and design director of entertainment architecture company STUFISH, was part of the team tasked with bringing the ambitious vision to life. With just three weeks to design and build the set, the pressure was on. They even created two stages: the one audiences saw on the night and a full mock-up in a studio where Spears could rehearse ahead of the VMAs.

25 years later and Winkler still prides himself on the team’s meticulous attention to detail. He tells Attitude the cage latch was designed so Spears could open it easily while keeping the tiger safely contained, while the bars were positioned to frame her face without casting a shadow. Even the stairs were designed around her shoes.

In his exclusive interview with Attitude, Winkler takes us behind the scenes of one of the most unforgettable performances in pop history, revealing what Britney was really like to work with, the nerve-wracking moment involving a cage and tiger, and what he makes of the Britney we see on social media today.

Attitude: Take me back to 2001… what was Britney like when you first met and started working with her?

Ray Winkler: She was very, very friendly and someone who exuded warmth. She knew exactly what she wanted from the performance and the direction we were given carried her stamp throughout. There was a lot of her in that show. When she arrived on set for rehearsal she was absolutely delightful and a pleasure to be around.

Where did the idea for the snake actually come from?

The concept originated between Wade Robson, who was Britney’s choreographer and creative director at the time, and her record label. We weren’t privy to those initial conversations. We were brought in by MTV at a slightly later stage to turn the concept into a set design. What was described to us was that Britney wanted to perform ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ in a jungle setting, but with a twist. We weren’t trying to replicate a jungle, instead we designed it in a highly stylised fashion, rendered in gold, silver and bronze.

How did Britney react when she found out she was going to perform with a live snake?

Honestly, by the time we were involved the snake was part of the brief. Britney is an absolute professional and she rose to the occasion. It was her performance, and she owned every part of it.

What was it like rehearsing with the live animals? Was there ever a moment when you thought something could seriously go wrong?

There was always a high level of awareness around the animals’ safety, and they were extremely well taken care of, before, during and after the show. That was the top priority not only for us but for Britney too. With live animals there’s always an unknown, but there were professional handlers who were on site throughout, and everyone felt secure and confident.

You had an incredibly short amount of time to put the production together. Were there any ideas that had to be abandoned?

As a designer, it’s the natural instinct to come up with the biggest idea possible; some make and some don’t. Given the time constraints, the loading times between performances and everything else that comes with a show like the VMAs, we did scale some things back. But we kept the very essence of what was first discussed and 25 years later it’s still talked about.

Did you meet Justin Timberlake around the time of the VMAs?

Our world was the stage and making sure Britney was able to deliver the best performance possible, so I didn’t meet Justin.

What do you remember about the night of the VMAs backstage before she walked on?

We all felt pretty confident. Everything had been well rehearsed. Britney had absolutely nailed it in rehearsals; she was a total professional. There was this excitement about giving audiences something completely unexpected for the VMA stage. If you’d told me at the time that we’d still be talking about it twenty-five years later, I think I’d have been far more nervous.

Twenty-five years later, why has that performance remained so powerful or even grown with time?

That’s a great question and there are many reasons. There’s Britney herself. She’s an iconic artist and she carved out her own lane and the loyalty and love from her fans hasn’t dimmed over the years. But a lot of it is that it was entirely physical. This was before the days of giant LED screens that dominate today’s shows. There was a real tiger in a cage and a real snake draped around Britney’s shoulders. There’s a liveness to it that can’t be faked and people feel that a quarter of a century later. Pop history tends to remember moments in one single picture, and Britney with a snake is one of them.

When you see Britney online today, how does that make you feel? Is she the same Britney you remember?

Britney has been, and always will be an icon.

Is there one behind-the-scenes detail from that performance people still don’t know?

Well, we only had three weeks to design the set, and it was full of details most people would never pick up on. We actually built two stages. There was the one everyone saw on the night and there was a full mock-up in a studio so Britney could rehearse separately before the VMAs. The cage alone took real consideration. The latch was designed so Britney could open it easily while keeping the tiger contained, and the bars were placed to frame her face without ever casting a shadow across it. Even the stairs down from the cage were designed around her shoes, so she could descend while playing to the camera rather than watching where her next foot went. Honestly, from what I remember, Britney getting that cage open during the opening was my biggest anxiety of the night.

Who’s one celebrity you’d love to work with again?

Oh, I couldn’t narrow it down to one. When your career spans Britney, Elton John, the Stones, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Madonna, the privilege is the range itself. At STUFISH we are really excited to be working with a wave of new artists such as Sabrina Carpenter, Addison Rae, Benson Boone and Laufey. We’ve loved every moment working with these artists, and I’d go back in the room with any of them tomorrow.