Paris Hilton didn’t fake the snake. For her fourth straight Britney Spears Halloween costume, Paris Hilton, 45, recreated Britney‘s “I’m a Slave 4 U” performance from the 2001 MTV VMAs: a green bandeau top, jeweled shorts with a rhinestone-tassel belt, and a live albino Burmese python across her shoulders, Billboard reports. The snake is named Tango, and its handler put it at roughly 30 to 40 pounds, per TODAY.
I’m Nico Grey. I make adult films, I run NicoGrey.com and Scandal Planet, and the rest of my time goes into investments, crypto and AI. I’ve produced a lot of shoots, and I know the difference between a prop and a commitment. This one was a commitment, so let’s check the receipts, line up Paris against the 2001 original, and count every Britney she’s done.
What happened
Paris debuted the costume on Friday, Oct. 23, in photos by Brian Ziff that she shared exclusively with Billboard and on her own Instagram and X, captioned “I’m a slave 4 U💋🐍💫 @britneyspears.” “Britney is one of the most iconic artists of our generation, and ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ will always be such a legendary moment in pop music,” she told Billboard. “The song, the choreography, the fashion — it was everything.”
Her X post had passed 870,000 views and 24,000 likes by Monday morning, Bangkok time. As of then, Britney hadn’t reacted to it on X.
The reveal, as Paris posted it
Paris shared the photos on Friday, Oct. 23, tagging Britney, and Billboard ran the exclusive set by photographer Brian Ziff the same day. Her own post passed 870,000 views on X by Monday.
NICO’S TAKEParis, darling, four Halloweens in a row as Britney. At this point it’s not a costume, it’s a residency. And you didn’t cheat: you let a 30-something-pound albino python slide over your shoulders in your own hallway and said “I love you, Brit” with a straight face. Most influencers panic at a ring light.
Britney, your move. Your oldest party friend just restaged the most dangerous three minutes of your career. One photo back and the internet melts.
Elle, you did this exact look in 2021 with a fake snake. Paris just raised the stakes. Rematch? Until Saturday, see who handles heat better on screen: Paris’s hub, then Elle Fanning in “The Great” →
— Nico
Paris has been a Halloween headline for years, and her Scandal Planet hub has everything on one page. Britney’s hub and Elle Fanning, the last star to wear this exact costume, are one click away.
Real snake or prop? Here’s the proof
Not every outlet got this right. HELLO! Canada posted on Oct. 24 that Paris had swapped the live python “for a prop version.” The original reports say otherwise:
- Billboard, which had the photos first, calls it “an albino Burmese python resembling the one Spears famously carried.”
- TODAY cites Paris’s behind-the-scenes Instagram video, where the handler gives the snake’s name, Tango, and its weight, roughly 30 to 40 pounds.
- Paris herself, in that video: “The fact that she performed at the VMAs with one of these around her neck is the most legendary thing that I’ve ever heard of my life. Especially after experiencing it just in the hallway of my house, I can’t imagine being on stage performing in front of thousands of people with this around my shoulders. That is badass. I love you, Brit.”
So the python was real, and by Paris’s own account she handled it in her house, with a handler on set, not in front of a crowd.
Paris 2026 vs. Britney 2001, piece by piece
- The top: Paris wears a green bandeau, Billboard reports, matching the green of Britney’s original.
- The shorts: TODAY describes Paris’s as “disco shorts” with a blue and green ombré butterfly print and a bedazzled belt with shimmering rhinestone tassels. The butterfly print is Paris’s own signature, not part of the 2001 look.
- The snake: Britney performed with an albino python named Banana, per TODAY. Paris’s stand-in is Tango.
- What Paris skipped: the tiger. Britney began the 2001 routine inside a cage with a live tiger before the python came out, TODAY notes.
- Who made the original: designers Kurt Swanson and Bart Mueller created Britney’s costume for the night, at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House. She was 19.
Four Halloweens, four Britneys
Billboard lists the full run, and it now covers four of Britney’s biggest eras:
- 2023: the blue flight-attendant uniform from the “Toxic” video.
- 2024: the “…Baby One More Time” video.
- 2025: the shiny red jumpsuit and teased ponytail from “Oops!… I Did It Again.”
- 2026: “I’m a Slave 4 U” at the 2001 VMAs, the first one with a live animal.
Harper’s Bazaar put Paris on its best celebrity costumes of 2026 list on Oct. 25, nearly a week before Halloween.
Why Paris keeps choosing Britney
It’s friendship, not just fandom. In her memoir The Woman in Me, Britney called Paris “one of the people who was kindest to me when I really needed kindness,” Billboard recalls. Paris later told Kelly Clarkson she cried reading it. “Britney is not only an icon, but also a dear friend,” she told Billboard this week, “and I’ll always love celebrating her and the incredible impact she’s had on all of us.”
Elle Fanning did it first, with a fake snake
Paris isn’t the first star to try this one. Elle Fanning wore the “Slave 4 U” look to a Halloween party in 2021, with a green bra top, tiny black shorts, thigh-high boots and a fake snake, and shared the photos a year later, per the Daily Mail. Paris’s version adds what Elle’s didn’t have: a live 30-pound python.
FAQ
Was Paris Hilton’s snake real?
Yes. Billboard calls it a live albino Burmese python, and in Paris’s behind-the-scenes video the handler names it Tango and puts its weight at roughly 30 to 40 pounds, per TODAY. A HELLO! Canada post calling it a prop doesn’t match those reports.
What was Britney Spears’ ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ VMAs outfit?
At the 2001 MTV VMAs in New York, Britney, then 19, wore a costume by designers Kurt Swanson and Bart Mueller, started the routine in a cage with a live tiger and finished with an albino python named Banana on her shoulders, TODAY reports.
How many times has Paris Hilton dressed as Britney Spears?
Four Halloweens in a row: “Toxic” in 2023, “…Baby One More Time” in 2024, “Oops!… I Did It Again” in 2025 and “I’m a Slave 4 U” in 2026, according to Billboard.
Are Paris Hilton and Britney Spears friends?
Yes, for years. Britney wrote in her memoir The Woman in Me that Paris was one of the people who was kindest to her when she needed it, and Paris calls her “a dear friend.”
What do you think? Best Paris Britney so far: Toxic, Oops or the real python? And should Britney answer with a Paris costume? Tell us on X @celeb124.
Photos: Paris Hilton at the WWD Style Awards, 2026 (card, story graphic and in-story photo) by Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0; Britney Spears, 2013 (card and story graphic) by Glenn Francis, CC BY-SA 4.0; Britney Spears on her Circus tour in Paris, 2009 by oouinouin, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons). Archive photos, not from the events described.
