There is now a very unexpected intersection between Tiger King and Britney Spears

Britney Spears.
(Image credit: TIMOTHY A.CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

The 2001 VMAs are best remembered for Britney Spears' jungle-themed performance of "I'm a Slave 4 U," during which she famously sang while holding a Burmese Python. But if you also binged Netflix's Tiger King this weekend, you'll recognize yet another character who was on stage that night: Doc Antle, who handles a tiger in a cage at the start of the performance with Spears.

The steamy theme required Doc to be dressed a little like a leather-jacket-wearing Tarzan (complete with "his Fabio-esque locks blowing in the wind," Vulture writes), but there's no mistaking that it's Joe Exotic's mentor crouched in the background of one of pop music's most iconic performances of all time. Watch the moment below. Jeva Lange

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.