MTV’s VMAs Exploit Britney Spears?
Britney's Performance has MTV Defending Itself
After the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, Britney Spear's performance of 'Gimme More' has some fans and celebrities angry at the music network.
MTV’s Video Music Awards needed something different this year. After drops in ratings and viewers, what could be better than to start the show with a controversial act? When Amy Winehouse cancelled, they needed a quick replacement. Britney Spears, a favorite of the tabloids, just released her first single in years, ‘Gimme More’. So MTV decided Britney would provide opening-act entertainment. And she did—for all of the wrong reasons.
Did MTV really think Spears was ready to make a live comeback? Or was it solely a ploy to attract more viewers? After all, she’s made the headlines all summer long, although most have little to do with her musical talent. Maybe MTV wanted to give Spears a shot to prove herself to the musical world again.
Did MTV Exploit Britney?
Some viewers and disappointed fans think so. But they’re not the only ones. Rapper Kanye West left the VMAs empty-handed, and that wasn’t his only disappointment of the night. In an interview to NY radio station Z100, West wasn’t happy with MTV.
“They exploited Britney in helping to end her career. When Britney was opening, near the end, I just felt so bad for her. I said, ‘Man, it’s a dirty game. This game will chew you up and spit you out.’”
Some may dismiss West’s comments as retaliation for leaving the VMAs without an award. Another industry heavy weight, Simon Cowell, talked to Extra about Britney Spears’s performance.
“She stole the show whether you liked it or not. The only thing you heard about the following day was Britney Spears.”
Britney Makes Headlines, For Better or Worse
Perhaps that was MTV’s goal, as with any opening musical act. Have the audience talking about it the next day. MTV is no stranger to controversy, so even if they didn’t believe Britney Spears was ready for a comeback, maybe they didn’t care. It would make headlines, and keep people talking long after the VMAs were over.
MTV denied accusations that it exploited the star, releasing this statement:
“Britney Spears has had so many memorable, high-energy performances at the VMAs over the years and no one wanted to see her succeed more than her MTV fans and MTV.”
After all, Britney decided for herself she was ready for the performance by accepting MTV’s invitation to the VMAs. Wasn’t it her decision, or at least her publicist’s, to perform at the VMAs? Vulnerable or not, it was Spear’s choice. And whether you liked her performance or not, it did exactly what MTV, and maybe even Spears, wanted it to do: it created publicity… and was the most memorable performance of the 2007 VMA’s.
