Britney Spears reacts to Blake Lively wearing her 2002 Versace dress, models ‘updated version’

Britney Spears has responded to Blake Lively wearing her 2002 Versace dress at a movie premiere - but opinions are divided about whether she intended to be shady.

Britney Spears reacted to Blake Lively wearing her 2002 Versace dress at the “It Ends With Us” New York City premiere.

In an Instagram video shared Saturday, the “Toxic” singer, 42, wore an “updated version” of the dress, which she said she likes “way better” than the original because it “shows [her] legs.”

The outfit she wore in the dance video — set to the tune of “Your Love” by the Outfield — was a sparkling, colourful rendition of the famous dress. However, the new, much shorter garment featured skinny shoulder straps and side cutouts.

She finished the look with a pair of nude pumps and some small jewellery pieces.

Spears originally wrote in her caption, “I LIKE IT WAY BETTER,” but later edited it to compliment Lively: “I’m no @blakelively but I like it.”

Blake Lively in Britney’s Versace dress. Picture: Gotham/WireImage

Blake Lively attends the It Ends With Us New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 6, 2024 in New York City. Picture: Gotham/WireImage.

Britney Spears on the catwalk for Versace in 2002. Picture: Alamy

Some fans misinterpreted the wording, but a spokesperson for Spears assures Page Six, “She did not shade Blake and felt honoured.”

Lively, 36, wore the dress once worn by Spears at Tuesday’s premiere of her new movie, which prompted fans to speculate that the “Gossip Girl” alum was throwing her hat in the ring to portray the “Gimme More” hit maker in her recently announced biopic.

“Blake Lively is a true Britney Spears stan,” one fan wrote on X. “Her showing her love for Brit in such an honest & adoring way makes me think she’d be a good candidate for the biopic.”

Britney Spears wore a colorful minidress version of her iconic look, which she said she liked “way better”.

Britney Spears, pictured above in a screenshot taken from her Instagram, reacted to Blake Lively wearing her 2002 Versace gown to the It Ends With Us premiere.

However, multiple industry insiders shared with us that Lively had no ulterior motives and instead is “just a fan” of Spears.

“Blake wearing Britney’s dress was not a subliminal message about the biopic,” a source close to Spears told Page Six earlier this week.

“And Britney’s song ‘Everytime’ is in ‘It Ends With Us,’ so it’s a nod to that, too,” the source further said, adding that “it’s too soon” for anyone to be pushing for a role in the film.

“There haven’t been any formal discussions about casting for the biopic yet.”

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.