Sunday night I was looking forward to a relaxing evening watching the MTV Video Music Awards with my roommate. We watched the special episode of The Hills, the red carpet show, popped the popcorn and sat down for the main event; just kidding, there was no popcorn. Within minutes, I became discouraged with the show and just wanted to turn the tv off. Host Russell Brand’s attempt at comedy was far from humorous. He started off right away with endorsing Presidential candidate, Barack Obama and calling President Bush a “retarded cowboy” who “wouldn’t be trusted with a pair of scissors in Britain.” While Brand is entitled to his opinion, this was no way to begin an awards show.

He moved onto joking about Vice-Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin. He referred to her as a “VILF: Vice President I like to….fondle.” That comment wasn’t inappropriate enough for Brand, he continued on to joke about her Palin’s pregnant 17 year old daughter. He said the pregnancy was a PR stunt, and also commented that it was a safe sex message, “Use a condom or become a Republican!”

He then began to joke about the Jonas Brothers and the purity ring they each wear, as a promise to not have premarital sex. He said that it was a waste, considering all the teenage girls the brothers could have. He also mentioned that the ring would be more effective if worn on the boys’ genitalia, instead of their finger.

The resounding question in my head was, “Is this really an award show or Brand’s lackluster attempt to become the last comic standing?” While the average person would expect to find endless amount of media coverage regarding Brittany Spears’ awards, or the rarely mentioned Tokio Hotel claiming Best New Artist, media instead resorted to rants over Brand.

Yes, the VMAs will continue to hold significance within the pop-cultural world, but please MTV, stop letting your hosts steal the show.