Justin Timberlake Edited for Joke at 2008 ESPYs

By Jayar Jackson

Now that everyone has had the chance to see the ESPYs 15 times in the last few days, the controversy of Justin Timberlake's hosting performance has made its rounds.

Boy bander turned all-around entertainer JT seems to be making a living off of his sports related performances needing a tape delay.

How could anyone forget his role in the infamous wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime performance with Janet Jackson, forcing CBS to implement a tape delay to avoid the FCC the next time around?

Well, our man Justin has now brought his line pushing to the doors of ESPN.

While joking about the Celtics' NBA Champion Paul Pierce's knee injury from Game 1 of the Finals this year, Timberland described his dramatic return as "shucking and jiving" back onto the floor. Although he had been getting laughs all evening, reports say that this joke evoked crickets from the audience of celebrities and professional athletes.

In case you're wondering, Pierce is Black and the term "shuckin and jivin" is a racially offensive way to describe Black people in trouble. It dates back to slavery days in America where a slave may try to quickly come up with a story to tell a White authority figure to get himself out of some mischief.

If it's still not sinking in, the negative imagery that comes to my mind is a Black man, fumbling and stuttering over his words, obviously lying to avoid some sharp and severe punishment for stepping outside of his box. He thinks he's smart, but he'll never fool the wiser White guy.

Unsurprisingly, ESPN utilized their 4 day gap between taping and broadcasting the event to edit out the controversial joke.

Should fans be annoyed and upset over Timberlake's irresponsible use of the term? Definitely. Should Timberlake apologize and move on with his life? Of course, that's what celebrities do. Should people assume that he is a racist that harbors negative thoughts and feelings about Black people? Hell no.

First of all, no one even knows who wrote that joke, and even if Timberlake did, it's pretty apparent that it was misplaced. The images of Pierce bouncing back onto the basketball court after being taken out on a wheelchair probably looked a little like a dance to some. The "jiving" of Timberlake's lame joke seemed to fit in his mind, not realizing that the term has origins of hate, ridicule, and mistreatment.

Pierce wasn't explaining anything, he wasn't coming up with a story to get himself out of any trouble as the term requires.

Bottom line, let him go; stop calling him a racist, a "wigger," (a term I happen to hate) and just keep buying his music every guy tries to hate, but secretly loves. Go ahead, play "FutureSex/LoveSounds the next time your boys come over (because you know you secretly have it). You'll get clowned at first, but they'll soon subconsciously start bobbing their heads!

Newsflash: Justin Timberlake Is Not Black!

Justin Timberlake had another slip up on tv. Apparently he made a “shucking and jiving” joke about Celtic Champ Paul Pierce that many black folks may not like. And unlike Nipplegate with Janet Jackson, his slip up will be omitted from the ESPY Awards show completely when it airs.



JT was reportedly teasing Boston Celtics basketball player Paul Pierce about his injured knee in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. In describing how Pierce quickly came back, Justin joked that Pierce was back on the court, “shucking and jiving.”

The comment, which was cut out of the broadcast that aired Sunday night, was met with silence from the crowd when the show taped on Wednesday.

Post comes courtesy of YBF.

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MTV's 2007 VMA Winners In Pictures: Rihanna & Beyonce Can't Compete With Britney Bombing... Big Time!

Was it me, or was there something very off about Britney Spears?

While White media has already started bagging on Spears being "embarrassingly out-of-shape", we were thinking just the opposite. Her body, from a brotha's perspective, was on and poppin'. And after two mini-Federlines back to back -- oh c'mon, don't even trip!

It was her singing performance and dance routine, however, that left a lot to be desired.

Kicking off the show Sunday night with her new single, "Gimme More," Spears looked bleary and unprepared, much like her recent tabloid exploits on the streets of Los Angeles. She walked through her dance moves with little enthusiasm. She appeared to have forgotten the art of lip-synching.

Male Artist of the Year/ Quadruple Threat of the Year: Justin Timberlake/ Best Director: Samuel Bayer for Timberlake's "What Goes Around... "/Best Choreography: Marty Kudelka for Timberlake's "Let Me Talk to You..."

Even the celebrity-studded audience seemed bewildered. 50 Cent looked at Spears with a confused look on his face; Diddy, her new best friend, was expressionless. Some comeback. Breathlessly hyped by MTV as the evening's most anticipated performance, it became the most shockingly bad of the night. Jive Records might want to push back that Nov. 13 album release date.

The VMAs had better luck with their own reinvention on Sunday. After suffering poor reviews and a decline in ratings over the last few years, MTV moved the show to Las Vegas' Palms Casino, shortened the show from three hours to two, and changed the show's setup to focus more on performances than awards. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, Kanye West, Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters each hosted separate suite parties, where much of the show's performances were held.

Female Artist of the Year: Fergie

Thankfully, after Spears' dismal start and an awkward, tired intro by comedian Sarah "I Hear Crickets In The Audience" Silverman, the show rebounded with several exciting performances.

Silverman not only dogged Britney, but also her kids by calling them mistakes. You know if that had been a Black woman, hair would have been flying all over that stage.

There was even "White Rockers Gone Wild" drama in the audience when an off-camera beatdown broke out between Pamela Anderson exes Kid Rock and Tommy Lee. Word is that Kid just walked up and pimp-slapped Lee, leading Diddy to remark: "It's not just the hip-hop artists that sometimes have a problem."

Translation - there are no color barriers when it comes to acting Ghetto. Want another example? How about the latest "White Girls Gone Wild" baby-mama-drama playing out between actress Bridget Moynahan, supermodel Giselle Bundchen, and New England Patriot quaterbackr Tom Brady.

Best Group: Fallout Boy, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race"

Timberlake's suite was packed with revelers, alcohol and eight lingerie-clad stripper types on raised platforms. Before he accepted the Quadruple Threat of the Year award at his suite, the DJ summoned the partygoers to watch the monitor and go crazy if Timberlake won.He did, they did, and Timberlake said: "I want to challenge MTV to play more videos!" Then he was whisked away by bodyguards and disappeared.

The ex-boy band N'Sync member was the night's big winner, with four trophies. After accepting the award for Male Artist of the Year, he jabbed at MTV again: "We don't want to see the Simpsons on reality television" - apparently he's not a fan of either Jessica or Ashlee's MTV shows.

Most Earthshattering Collaboration: Beyonce and Shakira, "Beautiful Liar"

Meanwhile, Rihanna won the coveted Video of the Year for her metallically inspired "Umbrella," and Monster Single of the Year for her ubiquitous hit "Umbrella," and Beyonce and Shakira won Most Earthshattering Collaboration for "Beautiful Liar." Beyonce's shimmering gold dress barely contained her top; immediately after she picked up her trophy, she asked an assistant backstage to help fix her dress, apparently to prevent a wardrobe malfunction.

Best Editing: Ken Mowe for Gnarls Barkley's "Smiley Faces"

Other performers were appearing on the show's main stage, in front of an industry-only audience seated at tables, like at the Golden Globes. Chris Brown gave one of the evening's most extravagant performances - a dance-centric, eye-popping spectacle that channeled Michael Jackson, right down to a brief "Billie Jean" imitation.

Alicia Keys had the evening's most rousing performance, debuting her new song "No One" and then an inspired, choir-backed cover of George Michael's "Freedom."

Best New Artist: Gym Class Heroes

While performances like Keys and Spears were delivered on the main stage, others were delivered in snippets: Akon crooned a bit of his "Smack That" before an award was announced, while the cameras zoomed in on performances from Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters mid-performance in their suites, giving viewers the sense that they had happened upon an intimate concert.

Cee-Lo delivered a rocking version of Prince's naughty classic "Darling Nikki" in the smoky Foo Fighters suite (where a beer bong was in operation as Dave Grohl danced, sang Cure songs, played air drums and posed for snapshots); Soulja Boy was showing Kanye West his "Crank That" dance in West's suite.

Though the suites appeared to be chaotic parties, the MTV-cast revelers were carefully organized and strategically placed for the cameras. In another suite, the MC encouraged everyone to drink and keep the energy up.

Video of the Year: Rihanna, "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z / Monster Single of the Year: Rihanna, "Umbrella"

Choreographed or not, Timberlake and Timbaland's joint suite looked like the most exciting - T.I., buffeted by pole dancers, delivered a rousing version of "Big Things Poppin'" while 50 Cent stopped by to perform "Ayo Technology" with Timberlake and Timbaland.

Not to be outdone, T-Pain and West danced high atop Las Vegas in one of the Palms' balcony suites as they celebrated "The Good Life." And Lil Wayne, doing double duty in the Fall Out Boy suite after opening the pre-show with Nicole Scherzinger, was particularly animated.

But the TV audience never got full views of those shows, though MTV promised viewers more via its Web site and other "remixed" versions of the show. That might have been the purpose: to whet appetites for repeat viewings by promising glimpses of what they missed during the traditional broadcast. And unlike in recent years, there was plenty reason to come back for more.

WAIT... WE'VE GOT MORE PHOTOS!

AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.

MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS: JUSTIN AND BEYONCE TOP NOMINATIONS

Beyoncé and Justin lead the way with seven MTV Video Music Awards nominations!

Melody makers and singing sensations alike are set to take over Sin City when the "2007 MTV Video Music Awards" airs on Sunday, September 9. Knowles and Timberlake tied with the most nods -- including Video of the Year.

Right on their heels were Kanye West and Rihana with five nominations each, while musical powerhouse Amy "Rehab" Winehouse was honored with three.

The energetic event will be held at the Palms Casino Resort and a number of superstars will be rocking out as they perform some of their biggest hits. Set to take the stage are the Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy and Lily Allen, just to name a few.

This year's "VMAs" will be paired down with only eight categories being announced during the two-hour show including four-all new ones: Male/Female Artist of the Year; Most Earthshattering Collaboration; Monster Single of the Year and Quadruple Threat Award.