Twenty-five years ago Madonna opened up the very first MTV Video Music Awards with a now iconic rendition of her smash hit “Like a Virgin.” And, yet, you would have never known it from last night’s 25th anniversary VMAs where host Russell Brand’s joking about the Jonas Brothers’ purity rings elicited a nasty retort from purity ring wearing American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.
After joking that it’s “a little bit ungrateful” for the teen sensations to swear chastity until marriage “because they could have sex with any woman they want,” the British comedian and recovering sex addict then went on to say that it’s a strange way to control a boy band with rings around their fingers, wink, wink. The audience gave a knowing chuckle.
But Ms. Sparks found nothing funny about the comment and said prior to giving out a Moonman, “I just wanna say, it’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, OK?”
Brand then quasi-apologized to the Jonas Brothers saying he didn’t mean to take it lightly, but that “a little sex once in a while never hurt anybody.”

So maybe that wasn’t the best choice of words from Brand, but for goodness sake, kids, this is the VMAs! This is where scandal lives! You have Madonna, Britney and Christina’s kiss; the scintillation of Britney’s “Satisfaction” opening number of 2000; Howard Stern’s pure outrageous scatological “Fartman” character in 1992; Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie’s disturbing lip-lock of 1994; L’il Kim’s seashell outfit (you know the one); Courtney Love’s antics; and much more.
Where was the bawdiness? The sex appeal? Even Christina Aguilera and Rhianna were fairly fully clothed. A little joshing about purity rings, even by a former sex addict, shouldn’t even rank in the Top 20 most outrageous moments. Perhaps the Disney-fication of Times Square has finally reached the Broadway headquarters of MTV.
Now, I see nothing wrong with wearing purity rings and promising to save oneself for marriage, but I do find it wrong that Sparks would label those who choose to have sex prior to marriage as “sluts.” Judgmental much?
I personally don’t believe that teens should be jumping into sex because they often lack the maturity needed to deal with the emotional and physical ramifications, but I’m enough of a realist to know that that they do. Sure there are those teens that have an undesirable and irresponsible number of partners, but many stay in long-term relationships throughout high school and college. And, we should all take exception to the word “slut”–the Scarlet Letter of the Jr. High set which is often used only to malign females.
Additionally, there are plenty of consenting, of-age adults out there that are in monogamous, long-term relationships that would take great exception to that statement and should. Not everyone holds to the same belief system as Sparks or the JB boys, but that is no reason to make such a sweeping statement, declaring all those sans rings “sluts.” Had she simply said that there was nothing wrong with waiting for that one special person, then she would have my support, but to use such blatantly disrespectful language, well, she’s no longer my American Idol.