Backstage at the VMAs: Britney Basks in Her Wins, Brand Condemns Sex, Linkin Park Rate the Night
MTV Video Music Awards host Russell Brand’s controversial, rapid-fire comedy had the press room buzzing last night, and the British comic defended himself after the ceremony. “I feel a bit bad that I kept talking about their vows to chastity,” Brand told reporters of his comments about the Jonas Brothers (he repeatedly joked about the band’s purity rings). “And I’d like to take this opportunity to say, ‘No one ever have sex again. It’s a mad idea. What a crazy way to spend an evening.’ ” Brand said he had a “lovely time” hosting the awards. “I do think it was a comeback for Britney,” he said. “This is the resurrection of Britney Spears. I saw stigmata. And, I liked when Lil Wayne leaned over and touched my legs. I think he might be from another world and he has a message for us all.” Brand also called Republicans “evil” and suggested “we need to return to socialism.” (For more on Brand, check out our feature Dirty Sexy Funny in the current issue).
Photo Gallery: Britney Spears, Lil Wayne, Rihanna and More at the 2008 Video Music Awards.
Britney Spears hit the press room basking in the afterglow of her three big wins. She smiled ear-to-ear holding her Moonmen and posing for the photographers. She didn’t talk to the press, but T.I. wasn’t shy about calling his own performance the best of the night. He also praised Spears and Brand. “Britney did her thing. It’s quite a comeback,” he said. As for Brand, “I think you have to push the envelope and think outside the box and he’s definitely doing that.”
Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington agreed. “Last year was probably one of the worst experiences of my professional career,” he told us. “It was terrible. This year’s show is much better.” His band’s “Shadow of the Day” picked up the award for Best Rock Video, and Joe Hahn said, “This is a cool video because it’s one that the whole band wasn’t in. It was just Chester and he carried the whole video. We’re trying to do different things so it feels good to win for that.”
The Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger informed us that the group roped in Missy Elliott to be in their next video for “Whatcha Think About That.” “It’ll be the Pussycat Dolls taken to the next level,” Scherzinger said. Doll Domination drops September 20th and the Dolls are plotting a world tour that starts in January 2009.
When a reporter asked presenter Paris Hilton about the Russell Brand-Jonas Brothers chastity controversy, Hilton said, “I think they are all really good kids. That’s something cool for a kid to keep so don’t pick on them for that.” Hilton added that her new music will be “very pop like Kylie Minogue.” A few contestants on Hilton’s new reality show also lingered backstage, telling Rolling Stone that they would get sued for $6 million if they revealed the winner. They did say that Hilton has permanently ditched her catchphrase “that’s hot” for “love’s it.”
If there was one hot thing Seth Green loved last night, it was Weezy’s ass. The actor got caught between Lil Wayne and T-Pain as they started their performance — not that he was complaining: “I gotta say, I almost squeezed Lil Wayne’s butt because it looked so firm and squeezable.”
Related Stories:
• 2008 VMAs Live Blog
• Russell Brand: Dirty Sexy Funny