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Joyce Hawkins says she was 'misunderstood' after tweeting 'Michael Jackson died so that Chris Brown could live!!!'
By Gil Kaufman

Chris Brown
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

Like son, like mother. Just as impertinent social media posts have often tripped up Chris Brown, his mother, Joyce Hawkins, set off a 140-character tempest this week with some provocative comments she made about her famous offspring's musical hero.

It all began on Tuesday, when Hawkins tweeted the phrase "Michael Jackson died so that Chris Brown could live!!!" The comment about the June 2009 death of Jackson has since been taken down, but not before it elicited a raft of harsh comments for Breezy's mom.

It was especially puzzling given the singer's avowed love for the late King of Pop, which was on display at the BET Awards earlier this year when Brown had a breakdown while performing during a tribute to Jackson.

After apparently being inundated with flames for her tweet, Hawkins released a statement to USA Today on Thursday in which she explained, "I'm so sorry that the tweet I sent yesterday was misunderstood. What I meant to say is that Chris has always been inspired by Michael Jackson's music and his career." She later tweeted, "I'm sorry I offended anyone. The statement meant Chris would carry on Michaels [sic] legacy."

Since deleting the original post, momanger Hawkins has continued to do what she has done since joining the service: offer inspirational comments to her 8,000 followers. On Friday (September 10) morning, she took the kind of strident, "us against the world" tone Brown often adopted after one of his Twitter episodes. "Angels continue to lift ur heads ever so high and ask God to guide and lead u throughout the good and the bad," she wrote. "Stand strong on his word!!!"

• Chris Brown

Mixed opinions for a film about the actor's retirement and apparent public breakdown.
By Adam Rosenberg

Joaquin Phoenix in "I'm Still Here"
Photo: Magnolia Pictures

Late in 2008, Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix opened up on a red carpet to Extra with a bold pronouncement: "I want to take this opportunity ... also to give you the exclusive and just talk a little bit about the fact that this will be my last performance as an actor ... I'm not doing films anymore." He went on to say that he would be shifting his energies to building a career in music.

A seeming breakdown followed. A big beard appeared, bushy and unkempt. Disheveled hair, sticking out in every direction thanks to untended-to tangles and dreadlocks. Baffling and downright embarrassing public appearances. Assurances from Phoenix and people around him that his attempts to become a rapper were 100% sincere.

The entire spectacle was filmed by Casey Affleck, who collected the footage into the newly released film "I'm Still Here." Charting the year-plus following the actor's retirement, the movie stitches together a rough narrative of what ostensibly went on behind the scenes during that period. Now the movie is in theaters for a limited release, with a wide release to follow next Friday, and reviews are pouring in. Opinions are mixed overall, but every review at least alludes to the question hanging over the film: Was this all just a big method acting experiment? Or a hoax?

"It almost doesn't matter if the psyche in question is imploding artificially — as in staged — or organically," Claudia Puig writes in USA Today, sidestepping that central issue and judging "I'm Still Here" as a work of film. "It's just so unpleasant to watch two hours of unrelenting bad behavior and grandiose delusions."

Dana Stevens, writing for Slate, has a similar response. She opens with a knockout punch: "The worst thing about 'I'm Still Here' is the fact that it exists," going on to later conclude, "Joaquin Phoenix may be the one going under, but it was Casey Affleck whose pockets I felt like stuffing with rocks."

Village Voice writer Karina Longworth addresses the film's hype directly. "Perhaps it goes without saying that 'Here' was more provocative when it couldn't be seen, when it existed for most of us purely in the realm of rumor." She points to an early report claiming — falsely — that the film would contain "more male frontal nudity than you'd find in some gay porn."

Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times acknowledges the film's faults in little more than a sentence, focusing instead on the subject and the picture of him that is painted. "Phoenix comes across as a narcissist interested only in himself," Ebert writes. "He is bored with acting. He was only a puppet. He can no longer stand where he's told, wear what he's given, say what is written. It's not him. He has lost contact with his inner self."

Ebert's write-up is less a review and more a personal appeal to a talented performer. While he admits that he will be "seriously pissed" if this all turns out to be a hoax, he ultimately concludes, "In 'I'm Still Here' all [Phoenix] proves is that he is hurtling toward the same pointless oblivion that killed his brother River. It is a waste of the privilege of life."

It is Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman who most effectively cuts through the hype and strikes at the core of what audiences are likely seeing in "I'm Still Here." He writes, "Affleck uses Phoenix's descent to forge a riveting — and, in its way, cautionary — case study of a celebrity self-destructively addicted to his own psychodrama. Phoenix may say that he's left acting behind, but whether he's trolling the Internet for hookers, trying (hilariously) to convince Diddy to produce his rap album, getting huffy with an entertainment journalist at a junket for 'Two Lovers,' or lashing out at fame while still enjoying all of its perks, the movie understands that his Last Honest Man in Showbiz routine is really a performance — even if it's one the actor himself is only dimly aware of."

Check out everything we've got on "I'm Still Here."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Experts dish their advice for making the best-dressed list ... and avoiding the worst-dressed list.
By Jocelyn Vena

Lady Gaga at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
Photo: Paul Warner/WireImage

The VMA show is a stomping ground for eclectic fashion — both good and bad. And that means that when the show kicks off on Sunday with everyone from Lady Gaga to Ke$ha to Katy Perry hitting the red carpet, people will be talking by the watercooler for days to come about what those fashionistas wore to the big show.

In the past, Lady Gaga has stunned at the VMAs in her Victorian-style dress, Perry has embraced her pinup-girl roots, and Taylor Swift has sparkled and dazzled in sequins. While it's unknown who will show up wearing what to Sunday's big show, some fashion experts have some key advice for staying off the worst-dressed list.

Faran Krentcil, Nylon magazine's digital director, credits Gwen Stefani as a VMA fashion "do" and says that the only way to make the best-dressed list come Sunday is to make the effort to be on it. "I think you have to first decide that you want to be on the best list because some people just want attention. So if you want attention, then do whatever you want," she advised. "What you need to do is get a good stylist to help you pick stuff out. You need to worry a lot more about what looks good on your body than what's trendy and probably take whatever you're the most proud of in your music and translate that into fashion."

Celebrity stylist Derek Roche advises that if you want to do VMA fashion right, resist the desire to overdo it. "I think the easiest way is not to think. It's about simplicity," he explained. "People think they have to go and be all dolled up and they have to compete with Rihanna and Beyoncé and they have to compete with Puff Daddy. Don't!"

So, what is the best advice everyone should keep in mind as they prep for the big night? "Just be who you are," Roche said. "It's all about being natural, and when you think about it too much and when you're trying to compete, you're always going to look like you're trying too hard."

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through Sunday.

• VMA 2010 Exposed

• Best Of VMA Red-Carpet Fashion

• Lady Gaga
• Katy Perry

The 40-year-old MC is rewriting the hip-hop handbook, powering through perhaps his most dominant year yet.
By Jayson Rodriguez

Jay-Z performs at Comerica Park on Thursday in Detroit, Michigan
Photo: Getty Images

Although it's been almost exactly one year since Jay-ZAlicia Keys took their hometown anthem to the World Series, performing the number before game 2 of the baseball championships between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Roc Nation CEO then rode shotgun with Alex Rodriguez during the Yankees victory parade in Manhattan. As the celebration wrapped, Jay performed his tune, which Derek Jeter had used as his at-bat music throughout the playoffs.

Jay-Z scored a big win on his own just a month after the Yanks clinched the chip when he earned his first career #1 record as "Empire State of Mind" topped the Billboard Hot 100. The iconic MC has amassed a total of 11 number one albums, but this was his first solo #1 single.

As is nearly always the case with Jay-Z, business was good, too.

He became a Broadway producer, along with Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith, when he invested in the Tony-winning Broadway play "Fela!" The investment was among one of the many money moves that helped Jay-Z to top the Forbes "Hip-Hop Cash Kings" list this year, the third time in four years he's done so.

2010 also started off on the right foot as Jay-Z took home the award for Best International Male Solo Artist at the Brit Awards.

Domestically, Jay boasted about hearing his music playing in the background when he called President Barack Obama. He later visited the White House with his wife, Beyoncé.

In the spring, Jay-Z joined a Brooklyn conglomerate, consisting of the Governor of New York, the Brooklyn borough president and the Russian billionaire owner of the Nets — Jay owns a small share of the team — to break ground on the New Jersey Nets' future arena.

But it wasn't only baseball and basketball pros who wanted a piece of Jay. In June a spokesperson for the New York Racing Association announced "Empire State of Mind" would be played during the142nd running of the Belmont Stakes, replacing Frank Sinatra's classic "New York, New York."

In spite of his lofty ambitions and achievements, Jay-Z continues to be grounded in music. The rapper has been in the studio a plenty, with the likes of Swizz Beatz, Jack White and Dr. Dre.

Hov was also the musical act during the Mother's Day episode of "Saturday Night Live" — the highest-rated "SNL" in 18 months — and he dedicated his tune "Forever Young" to host Betty White.

Just last month, Kanye West announced that he and Jay would complete a collaborative album. And this month, Jay is co-headlining with Eminem on their Home and Home concert series. After Eminem stole the show at the first stop, Detroit, expectations for Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium next Monday and Tuesday are higher than, well, the Empire State Building.

Needless to say, Jay should be scoring a Moonman or two this weekend.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through Sunday.

• Live From The 2010 Video Music Awards
• Revealed: MTV Video Music Awards

• Stars Go Glam At The VMAs
• Be Gentle, It's Their First Time! 2010 VMA Virgins
• VMA 2010: Behind The Scenes At The Promo Shoot
• 2010 Video Music Awards Performers And Presenters
• Lady Gaga Leads The 2010 VMA Nominees

• Jay-Z

'The first single I ever bought was 'The Real Slim Shady,' Florence Welch admits.
By James Montgomery

Florence and the Machine's Florence Welch with MTV News' James Montgomery
Photo: MTV News

Ever since she was announced as a (rather unexpected) multiple MTV Video Music Awards nominee last month, things have gotten sort of weird for Florence and the Machine's Florence Welch. It's not so much the awards show thing — back in her native U.K., they have become mainstays at shows like the Brits and the Q Awards — as it is the overwhelming number of questions Welch has had to answer about fellow VMA nominees Eminem and Lady Gaga (both of whom have videos up against her "Dog Days Are Over" clip for Video of the Year).

'It's the best of music, it's the best of performances, it's the best host and the dopest set,' he teases.
By Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Saimon Kos

Rick Ross
Photo: MTV News

On his album Teflon Don, Rick Ross said he feels like Big Meech, Larry Hoover and MC Hammer. On Thursday (September 9) in Los Angeles, the imposing Miami hitmaker said he felt like onscreen Marine Jake Sully.

The Bawse has a very special surprise contribution to this year's MTV Video Music Awards. On Thursday afternoon at the Nokia Theatre, with his A&R/ video director Spiff TV not too far away, Ricky Rozay praised this Sunday's extravaganza.

"This is gonna be the dopest MTV VMAs ever," Ross predicted. "I'm letting you know. Not only because I'm a part of it, but when I walked into the auditorium where the VMAs are being held, I felt like I stepped off a ship on Pandora. If you ever saw the movie 'Avatar,' that's the feeling. Everything feels big, everything feels futuristic. It feels space-age. We got the dopest female in late night hosting the show, Chelsea Handler. She's on fire right now. She's sizzling. She's sexy as ever.

"But as soon as I walked in, just the ambiance from the show, it overtook me, watching the rehearsal," he continued. "Get ready to tune in. Make sure if you never watched the MTV Video Music Awards, make sure this is your first one. And if you have [seen one], expect the game to be stepped up 2,000 percent. ... It's the best of music, it's the best of performances, it's the best host and the dopest set I've ever seen ever. This is Pandora."

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through Sunday.

• VMA 2010 Exposed

• Behind The Scenes At The 2010 VMAs

• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)

'So You Think You Can Dance' alum Travis Wall is 'stoked' for the show.
By Kelley L. Carter, with reporting by Saimon Kos

Choreography rehearsal at the 2010 VMAs on Thursday
Photo: MTV News

So you think you're ready for some hot dance sequences at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards? Sounds like you're going to get them.

'You'll probably have to direct this video by Skype,' Kai Crawford recalls being told about Justin Timberlake-inspired Best Male Video nominee.
By Jayson Rodriguez

Jason Derülo in his "In My Head" music video
Photo: Warner Bros. Records

Jason Derülo turns up the heat in his steamy video for "In My Head," but the mercury was plummeting when production on the upstart singer's visual was slated to begin. With temperatures on the East Coast falling, L.A.-bound director Kai Crawford nearly had to oversee the clip via satellite as snow blanketed New York City.

Not the way he planned on handling the video, which has been nominated for Best Male Video at this year's VMAs. (Derülo is also up for Best New Artist.)

"It was like the coldest day of the year, it seemed like," Crawford explained to MTV News. "It's funny. I traveled from New York and I got snowed in, 'cause it was a blizzard, like, four or five days before Christmas, which for me, was two days before the shoot. I got snowed in. The [video's] commissioner got so scared, she told me, 'You'll probably have to direct this video by Skype.' "

Crawford's flight to Los Angeles was postponed and the airport in New York was just about shut down. But the director made the trip to JFK International Airport anyway in the hopes of catching a flight. His determination was rewarded when after a few hours Delta Airlines re-opened and Crawford was able to book another flight. With his old ticket refunded, the director bought a new ticket ASAP and headed to California.

Crawford and Derülo then sought to create an homage to Justin Timberlake's Diane Martel-helmed clip for "Like I Love You." According to Crawford, the concept of Derülo's clip was the "party after the party" in the parking lot. With the Miami singer's moves and his crooning, they were able to accomplish that goal.

The only problem?

"It was like the coldest day in L.A.," Crawford recalled, laughing.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through Sunday.

• Jason Derulo

It's unclear what album leaked track might end up on.
By Jayson Rodriguez

T.I. and Mary J. Blige
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Mary J. Blige is known as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, but the veteran singer has more range than a rifle. Blige's country-tinged "Care," featuring Kid Rock and T.I., leaked online Thursday (September 9.).

The song includes a guitar-laden production and earnest lyrics about wanting to change the world but only having the ability to care.

"I can't stop the war, shelter the homeless, feed the poor," Blige and Kid Rock sing together on the chorus, while T.I. ad-libs throughout the refrain. "I can't walk on water, can't save your sons and daughter/ I can't change the world or make things fair, but the least I can do is care."

"For the life of me, I can't see how the devil keeps enticing me," Tip raps on the number. "All you see is a felon, but I know God can see what's right in me."

In the past, Blige has worked with a host of artists in other genres, from Jay-Z to U2's Bono to Luciano Pavarotti, but this is her first foray into country. As of press time, however, it's unclear if the record will land on Blige's next project. A representative for the singer has not responded to inquiries.

Blige is hard at work on her forthcoming album; producer Swizz Beatz sent messages on Twitter saying he and Blige completed four songs together for her next project. In the meantime, Blige is set to go on tour next month with Jazmine Sullivan and newcomer Miguel.

What do you think of Mary veering into country territory? Share your thoughts in the comments!

• Mary J. Blige
• Kid Rock
• T.I.

'I'm not going to waste my time on that guy,' VMA host jokes.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Tim Kash

Chelsea Handler
Photo: MTV News

The quick-witted Chelsea Handler is rehearsing for her VMA hosting gig as we speak. The talk-show host caught up with MTV News on Thursday (September 9) to reveal that she's pretty much ready for anything.

"I'm pretty good at answering anything you ask me," she said. "I mean, if I know the answer. If I didn't, I'll just bullsh--. Bleep that please," she laughed. "I forgot I was on a younger person's network."

Speaking of young people, America's favorite teen, the VMA-nominated Justin Bieber, is set to take the stage at the show, and he has quite the past with the comedian. But she admitted that, while he's a "two face" in the love department, she does think he knows quite a lot about it.

"He knows so much about romance," she said. "If you listen to the lyrics of 'Baby, Baby, Baby,' or is it just called 'Baby'? I have to say it three times, 'cause it makes my heart thump. He's obviously been around the block. I mean, I don't know why he's pretending he's not a sexual deviant, because he is."

Handler said she has her guard up these days around the pop sensation after she asked him out on a date only to have him start hanging out with VMA presenter Kim Kardashian instead. "He's using the flirty card with everybody he meets, and I'm not gonna fall for that," she said. "I'm 35 years old. I only have about five good years left in me, and I'm not going to waste my time on that guy."

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through Sunday.

• VMA 2010 Exposed

• Be Gentle, It's Their First Time! 2010 VMA Virgins

• Justin Bieber