Spears first performed " I 'm a Slave 4 U " at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City on September 6 , 2001 . The performance featured a white tiger and a live albino Burmese Python on her shoulders . The inclusion of the animals in the performance brought a great deal of criticism from animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA ) . Other performances include several television appearances to promote her third album , '' Britney '' . She performed on '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno '' on October 11 . A special named '' Total Britney Live '' was aired by MTV on November 3 , where the singer performed the song with " Stronger " and " I 'm Not a Girl , Not Yet a Woman " . Two days later , on November 5 , Spears performed " I 'm Slave 4 U " on '' The Rosie O'Donnell Show '' , and on the '' Late Show with David Letterman '' the day after . A month later , she opened the 2001 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on December 4 , 2001 , with a performance of the track on a stage inside the fountains of the Bellagio Hotel . Spears performed the song on the 2001 – 02 Dream Within a Dream Tour , in a setting resembling the performance at the MTV Video Music Awards . According to Jim Farber from '' New York Daily News '' , " But for all the bumping and grinding that went on , parents had no reason to cover their daughters ' eyes " . To promote her fourth studio album '' In the Zone '' , she performed the track at the 2003 NFL Kickoff Live on September 4 , 2003 at the National Mall . Other songs performed included " Me Against the Music " and " ... Baby One More Time " . On September 14 , Spears played a surprise concert at Rain Nightclub in the Palms Casino Resort , and performed the aforementioned songs along with a new song titled " Breathe on Me " . On November 17 , a concert special titled '' Britney Spears : In the Zone '' aired on American Broadcasting Company ( ABC ) , and included a mash-up of " I 'm a Slave 4 U " and " Boys " . On The Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004 , the track was included on the setlist , and had a " '' Flintstones '' - meets - '' Survivor '' " set
2001 MTV Video Music Awards
2001 MTV Video Music Awards
I'm a Slave 4 U