New Documentary Catches Up With Chris “Leave Britney Alone!” Crocker

Chris Crocker today [photo: Twitter]

 

 

 

 

By Lyndsey Parker | As Heard On

Before there was Rebecca Black, Justin Bieber, or David After Dentist, there was Chris Crocker, one of YouTube's original "ceWebrities." Back in September 2007, the bleached-blonde Tennessee teen found instant and unlikely fame when a camcorder rant he shot at his grandparents' house, "Leave Britney Alone!"--a sobbing defense of his fallen idol Britney Spears, after she caught flak for her disastrous VMAs performance--went superviral. (The clip racked up more than four million views in just two days, and as of this writing, it has been watched almost 44 million times.) But there is more to Chris Crocker than just those two minutes and 12 seconds of online infamy, as a surprising new documentary that premiered at Sundance earlier this year and aired on HBO this week, Me @ The Zoo, now reveals.

The film, which was executive-produced by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, co-directed by Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears's husband Chris Moukarbel, and scored by Bjork/Usher/Philip Glass collaborator Nico Muhly, chronicles Chris's troubled upbringing as the effeminate, frequently bullied son of a meth-addicted teen mom. (His mother was only 14 when she gave birth to him, and Chris says, "I think I saw some of my younger mom in Britney when I was a kid.") Chris--who stopped going to school during his junior high years to avoid daily bullying for being "overtly gay," and basically became a teenage shut-in from that point on, living with his paternal grandparents--explains in one of the film's scenes that he posted his flipcam videos on MySpace and later YouTube as a "way of defending myself against the people in my hometown without having to fight back physically."

But of course, Chris also reveals that the bullying he endured for most of his young life hardly went away once he became an overnight Internet sensation; in some ways, it just became more high-profile. In one of Me @ The Zoo's many sad scenes, a "Glenn Beck" television clip shows the notoriously conservative cable news host stating, "I'll leave [Britney] alone, if I can target this guy for a while."

Chris, who has pursued an electropop music career and reportedly even once considered doing porn after his YouTube star started to fade, has clearly matured a great deal since he uploaded "Leave Britney Alone!" (which, he explains in the film, was shot from "a child's perspective"). He continues to post personal videos on his YouTube channel, which still boasts about 355,000 subscribers and a to-date total of more than a quarter-million views. But long gone are his trademark peroxided emo-bob and tear-smeared eyeliner (with his new clean-cut, masculine look, he is nearly unrecognizable), and his videos are much more serious and thoughtful in tone. In one recent angry commentary he posted about Rihanna's controversial decision to record a duet with her former abuser Chris Brown, titled "Rihanna, WHY?," Crocker surprisingly eloquently discusses his mother's own abusive past, and questions Rihanna's ability to be a role model for other female domestic abuse victims. This is obviously a far cry from the sniffling, screeching viral video that made Chris Crocker famous five years ago.

"I was 19 years old at the time. I'm 24, going to be 25 now, and my priorities have changed," Chris, who actually lived as a girl for several years in his teens, says in the film. "I'm not obsessed with pop culture, pop music, or anything the way I once was as a teenager, for sure....I'm into poetry. I'm reading my Sylvia Plath."

Some naysayers may question why any documentarian would want to create an entire film about a "D-list" Web star years after most YouTubers have likely forgotten all about him and moved on to the latest fleeting Internet meme. But in a Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Foursquare/Pinterest age when almost everyone lives online, bullying is a hotter topic than ever, and Britney is enjoying her own comeback, Chris's story truly resonates. The film's co-director, Valerie Veatch, explains to HBO: "In some ways [Chris is] the first gay person online to express an aggressive, confident persona that I think so many young kids look to and model themselves after. On one level, he's extremely entertaining and has a great aesthetic. And on another level, he's a very brave person. And I think his bravery and his honesty are what people are drawn to."

Megan Fox confirms pregnancy with bump-baring bikini photo

Fox and Green in Hawaii (AKM-GSI)

By Suzy Byrne | Goddess: Celebrity Moms and Dads

Megan Fox is no longer keeping her pregnancy under wraps! The actress has confirmed rumors that she's expecting her first child by posing in a bikini.

The "Transformers" beauty and her husband, Brian Austin Green, show off their joint production in a series of photos taken during a vacation in Hawaii. In the pictures, Green lovingly has his arms around Fox, resting his hands on her growing belly. She is wearing a bikini and a long white skirt, which sits directly below her tummy.

It's no surprise that Green, 38, and Fox, 26, selected Hawaii as the backdrop for the photos. The couple married there two years ago — on June 24, 2010. The actor's 10-year-old son Kassius, whose mother is Green's ex Vanessa Marcil, was the only witness at the sunset ceremony on the beach at the Four Seasons Resort. As recently as February the couple returned to Hawaii for more R&R.

Fox has been very candid about her desire to have a family with Green. "I want at least two, probably three [kids]," she told Cosmopolitan earlier this year. "I've always been maternal." As for her relationship with Green, who is 12 years her senior, she told the magazine: "We've had obstacles, and we've overcome them. I truly feel like he's my soul mate. I don't want to sound corny or cliche, but I do believe we are destined to live this part of our lives together."

David Letterman Heckles Justin Bieber Over Tattoo

By Wendy Geller | Stop The Presses!

When Justin Bieber made his appearance on The Late Show Thursday night in support of his new release Believe, he probably didn't anticipate having a skirmish with David Letterman over a tattoo, of all things.

However, that's just what happened, when Letterman spotted Bieber's latest ink--the title of his new album--on the singer's forearm. Doing his best cranky dad voice, Letterman groaned, "Oh God, how many do you have?"

Bieber attempted to explain that the tattoo was a special way to commemorate the new record, when Letterman suddenly pounced--grabbing his arm roughly and growling, "Get that off there!"

Bieber winced in pain and hollered, "Ay, ay, ay--this is brand new!" When Letterman released him, the star waved his hand dismissively and snorted, "Grandpas!"

That wasn't the last of the subject, however. Letterman wouldn't let off--asking first if Bieber's mother had a tattoo (no), and then if Dad had one.

After Bieber confirmed his pops indeed does have ink, Letterman looked resigned and said, "Just don't go nuts...more and more you see, like, the mural. Like the Sistine Chapel."

"I'm not going for the 16th Chapel," Bieber reassured him, inadvertently messing up the name of the famously frescoed landmark.

While the audience howled at Bieber's mistake, Letterman deadpanned, "Canadian high school." To which the Biebs responded with a steely glare.

Oh, burn! Better "believe" it: You can manhandle the fresh tattoo, but don't pick on the homeland!

Letterman had further fun with Bieber during the evening, teasing him about his hair, asking him about his college plans, and even breaking into a few opera stanzas with the superstar.

source yahoo

PIC: Lady Gaga Reveals Bruised Face After Onstage Concussion

Us Weekly

Ouch!

If the video footage wasn't enough, Lady Gaga proved just how bad her head injury was Sunday with a photo of her badly bruised face.

The "Born This Way" singer (real name: Stefani Germanotta) tweeted a photo of what appears to be a black eye and bruised left cheek. "Emerging from hours of sleep," she wrote Monday. "Still remiss if I should go outside, with this clonker I may be of questionable styling."

Gaga, 26, suffered a concussion Sunday after she was hit in the head with a pole during a performance in Auckland, New Zealand. A backup dancer accidentally knocked Gaga's head with the set prop while removing it from center stage. The star staggered backwards after getting hit, but managed to finish her show.

However, she's still recovering from the concussion she sustained.

"Thank you so much for all the thoughtful messages," Gaga tweeted to her fans. "I feel a bit woozy but a little better everyday. Very happy to be in beautiful Australia."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: PIC: Lady Gaga Reveals Bruised Face After Onstage Concussion

Lady Gaga Reigns as Twitter Queen with 25 Million Followers

Stop The Presses!

Lady Gaga's little monsters have helped make her the most popular person in the Twitterverse!

The 26-year-old singer is the first one to have over 25 million followers on Twitter. The social media milestone didn't go unnoticed by the pop star, who is currently on her Born This Way world tour. From the road Gaga tweeted: "#25milliontweetymonsters wow! I'm officially feeling like the luckiest girl in the world today."

The other celebrities rounding out the top five most followed  are Justin Bieber (22.6 million), Katy Perry (20.5 million), Rihanna (19.8 million), and Britney Spears (17.2 million). President Barack Obama isn't that far behind with 16 million.

The  microblogging site has grown tremendously in a short period of time. Just three years ago, Ashton Kutcher, one of the early adopters of Twitter, was all over the news when he hit a then-record breaking 1 million followers. Kutcher, who now trails far behind with about 10.8 million, was soon surpassed by Spears, but not for long. Three months later, in August 2010, Gaga took the lead from Spears and has been at the head of the pack ever since. When Gaga first hit No. 1, she posted a funny video in which she declared herself "Lady Gaga, queen of Twitter." Wearing a white lace hat with the Twitter logo on it and waving a wand, she  thanked her "beautiful little monsters for following me."

Gaga has long expressed her gratitude to those monsters, her now-famous pet name for her loyal fans. "The monsters are my medicine," she told Elton John when he interviewed her for V magazine. "They heal me, physically and emotionally, every night at the show. I feel God through their love. I worship little monsters. They're my religion. Without them I don't exist."

And without them she wouldn't be "queen of Twitter."