Tyla’s breakout hit “Water” details her metaphorical desires linked to the quenching liquid. But the tense tidal wave she’s currently facing did not quite fit that fantasy.

Over the weekend, the “Push 2 Start” singer closed out her appearance at Coachella 2025. Outside of her brief tussle with a concertgoer for the microphone during weekend two, Tyla’s onstage look sparked a viral response from users online.

Thousands of fans praised Tyla for paying homage to Britney Spears’ 2001 VMAs “I’m a Slave 4 U” performance costume. They only problem is Tyla did not intend to reference the get-up. Over on X (formerly Twitter), Tyla revealed that was not inspired by Spears. Unfortunately, Tyla’s confession rubbed Spears fans the wrong way.

“Love her, but I just thought the outfit was fly,” she answered user. “No inspo.”

Although many users found Tyla’s response hard to believe considering Spears’ pop superstar status, others pointed out Tyla’s South African roots. One user took it a step further by insulting Tyla.

“I personally think she is a copycat and too full of herself,” wrote the user.

Tyla immediately shut down the users with a snappy comeback of her own. “Personally I think you should [shut the f*ck up],” replied Tyla.

Tyla may be from South Africa where the pop stars vary from the US, but disrespect is global. So, the Grammy Award-winner refused to let the remark go unaddressed.