MTV is said to want Brand to present the 2009 VMA's after his performance helped the music channel score highly among the 12 to 34 demographic, up 26% on 2007, with around 23m tuning in at the show's peak.
Brand, who was reasonably unknown in the US before the weekend, urged viewers to vote for Barack Obama in his opening speech, before mocking President Bush.
He said: "I know America to be a forward-thinking country because otherwise why would you have let that retarded cowboy fella be president for eight years?
"We thought it was nice of you to let him have a go, because in England, he wouldn't be trusted with a pair of scissors."
More than 4,500 users posted comments on MTV's US website, many of them angry at the British comedian's political jokes. The traffic rise was an 18% boost on visitors after last year's VMA's.
One poster called Stupaloop wrote: "Russell Brand was TERRIBLE! I don't need someone from another country to tell me how to vote for the leader of my country. MTV get your head out of your A**."
Brand also made fun of US band the Jonas Brothers and their vows to abstain from premarital sex, as well as Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential candidate, who he called a "Vilf", which he said meant "Vice-President he'd like to fumble or fondle".
His performance left some celebrities in the audience shaking their heads.
One poster called Steven wrote on MTV's US site: "Russell Brand offended our country, our president and made wrong sexual comments to a crowd of teens... He was out of line, out of touch and deserves a punch in the face."
Brand is not known for being subtle and MTV had some idea of what to expect. The channel fired him from his first presenting job on 'Dance Floor Chart and MTV Select' when he came to work dressed as Osama bin Laden the day after 9/11.
MTV was unavailable for comment.
Brand had hoped that the MTV awards would be his spring board to fame in the US. He was hoping to build his career there where he recently co-starred in the Judd Apatow-produced comedy 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'.
Comments
She - 09/09/2008
Brand awareness hits the US :-) go Russell...shake 'em up, wake 'em up... he is a genius from the future and we're ready for him even if the US aren't.
Russell Brand is brilliant!! Americans need to learn to loosen up and laugh at themselves a bit. I'm sure Russell is having a good old chuckle at the angry comments being posted. The world has gone too PC!! How can they say that he was making 'wrong sexual comments to a crowd of teens' - have you seen MTV recently??? I've never known a channel to show such demoralising programmes!! Like that one where the parents dislike their children's partner and go on a hunt for a more suitable mate - the abuse that gets thrown at the poor kids on that show is horrendous!! Even if it is all scripted theatre - the comments are rather personal and must cause some harm.
Brand has generated a great spike in awareness for MTV but probably hasn't helped Barack Obama. Politics is a subject best avoided by music TV presenters - plus not sure I'd trust Boris with a pair of scissors. However, I think the Jonas Brothers are fair game and he could have gone further - MTV does not need to be all things to all young people and can't possibly be cool if it is trying to keep the moral majority on side.
MM - 10/09/2008
It would be a shame if this does end Brand's fledgling career in the US as it would mean he'd be forced to come back to the UK and we'd have to put up with him instead.
As David says though, I can't see this doing too much harm for MTV amongst its target audience.
Emma, don't blame PC - the people Brand is aiming at are rednecks, the very opposite of PC. PC is only a problem in the minds of people who think that they should be able to say anything, to anyone, about anything, whenever they want, whatever the cost. And, actually, there isn't a person in the world for whom 'anything goes'. Even Bernard Manning had a no-go area \(his mother). We all do. So, while it's easy to laugh at Americans and other people, just be careful that someone, some day does not turn on your own particular foibles. After all, we're not all comedians like Russell Brand who simply don't care and has nothing to lose. That's all PC asks for - that you put yourself in other people's shoes.
Emma Lambert - Russell Brand isn't brilliant; he's bloody awful. Can't stand the bloke. Shame that he isn't going to break the US though - means we're stuck with him
g - 10/09/2008
MTV is built on stuff like this. The execs will be loving it.
Russell Brand ftw
And that Ken Clarke was a terrible chancellor wasn't he? And what about that Ted Heath...
I saw Ken Clarke when he did the VMA's he was rubbish. Not sure about Ted Heath was he in New Kids?
Nevermind Heath and Clarke. What about Darling?
I think you're on the right tracks about Heath, Tom....
I'm surprised Brand didn't call him 'the grocer' as he's so topical with his humour.
WAC
Personally I don't like him but after his comments about Bush I'm warming.
Honesty doesn't go down well with some people.
The comments about Bush were tired and obvious. Yes he's a cowboy, yes he's not the brightest guy on earth wow what insight. That's what Brand is about. His targets are all easy and his pops are all cheapshots. OMFG he had a go at the clean cut Christians. Did he write his material in the loo before he went on stage. That's my guess.
I think the most simple observations are often the funniest.. I'd love to see you try and make a crowd that size laugh Gordon Macmillian...
I love Brand.
I don't claim to be a comedian.
Perhaps some of the things he said where not acceptable for younger crowds ears. Although, the sooner Americans can stop taking themselves so seriously, the better. I think the US can learn from extraverts like Brand, in some ways, but definitely not others.
You idiots - yes of course it's popular and easy to mock Bush and Christians but honestly what sort of material were you expecting on a show squarely aimed at middle America? A lengthy witty monologue regarding Britain's preparations for 2012?
Get over it - Brand is a funny guy and more Americans would do well to listen to what he has to say because most of the time it's a damn sight more relevant than most of the drivel the US media churns out
Brand was not funny. I was sitting there cringing at his performance. Hardly anyone was laughing at his jokes and he spoke at a million miles an hour while pacing back and forth like he had ants in his pants.
As an American, I found him boring not brave. And there is way better home-grown stuff mocking Bush btw. Check out the amazing Stephen Colbert right in front of George himself and the MSM at the 2006 White House Correspondents Association dinner:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879
Ants in his pats?? More like crabs...isn't he bit of charmer with the ladies?
Whatever about Brand on TV \(and I'm not a fan of his stand-up either), his Guardian sports column is bloody funny.
He is I think the Sun's Bizarre page "Shagger of the Year".
Those that are using this message board to tell us how terrible Brand is as a comedian are missing the point somewhat...
We are no longer a society that sit down in front of the Television together as a family to watch Auntie Beeb... Family Entertainment is a dead horse \(although a dead horse that is still being flogged by the likes of the dreadful My Family)
Today's media winners take the same approach as the British Empire builders - namely to divide and rule - Something by just a glance down these comments it seems Brand is very good at!
QUOTE: Gordon Macmillan - 10/09/2008
"I don't claim to be a comedian."
Well stop analysing comedy then!!!
It doesnt matter what you think or - if you think his comments are obvious
The point is he got a large proprtion of a hard to reach dynamic talking about him and MTV...
And creating conversations is what marketing is all about
And thats why MTV want him back...
\(the fact that in doing so they are going for a safe option thus going against the reasons why they picked him in the first place = a move that will inevitably be followed by diminishing returns - is another discussion x)
Bob SLayer
www.bobslayer.com
Well all i can say if is if the whole event has generated that much response from people in the industry on a web site not devoted to this type of user generated content discourse, then it has done it's job well. Even if you want to put a good or bad label on it.
so your arguments are that it doesn't matter that no one in the US found Brand funny or controversial because he got people talking and that's all that matters even if they're saying 'who is this english muppet with old crap jokes about our outgoing president?'. and secondly, no one is qualified or has the authority to critique Brand unless they are a comedian themselves. i'd better remember to stop moaning about Gordon Brown as i've yet to serve a tenure as prime minister.
I think we're taking all this much too seriously. I'm a grown up and know to take a host for what he/she is...you don't have to agree with him/her. Just laugh...or don't and go on. Honestly anyone in the public eye is subject to scrutiny just by putting themselves out there. Again you don't have to agree or take it to heart...it's one guy's opinion and we're all entitiled to ours.
The real scandal is that MTV gave awards to a renowned drug abuser with pychiatric issues who neglected her children - Britney Spears. How different from last year when the award went to ... oh yeah, a renowned junkie and alcoholic with pychiatric issues - Amy Winehouse. If you ask me, Brand was hired just to divert attention.
Why's that a scandal? Musicians take drugs. It's a music awards ceremony, not an NSPCC-sponsored celebration of parenting.
Have I stratyed on to some weird Daily Mail island within BR? "I hear Brand's a bit of a charmer with the ladies" ... wow, really??
Didn't he get fired from MTV after he dressed up as Osama Bin Laden the day after September the 11th? How convenient that MTV forgot that when they booked him to entertain its American audience.
Kiki - 12/09/2008
Well done MTV, a brave move. Although I think Brand over did it a bit, there was a fine line between continually slating a country and being funny and I'm not sure which side he was on. It was still brilliant to watch though. Car crash TV at it's finest!
candace kuss thanks for that link, can't believe S.C. had the balls to do that...and didn't get shot. oh and the brand thing, america/MTV has had enough exposure to him \(+Borat) to know what was coming.
For crying out loud. Jokes are jokes. If he brought rating up, then hes bl**dy done something. America, you need to loosen up. Dont forget, Britain has been the backbone of a lot of your jokes.
Comments
She - 09/09/2008
Brand awareness hits the US :-) go Russell...shake 'em up, wake 'em up... he is a genius from the future and we're ready for him even if the US aren't.
emma lambert - 10/09/2008
Russell Brand is brilliant!! Americans need to learn to loosen up and laugh at themselves a bit. I'm sure Russell is having a good old chuckle at the angry comments being posted. The world has gone too PC!! How can they say that he was making 'wrong sexual comments to a crowd of teens' - have you seen MTV recently??? I've never known a channel to show such demoralising programmes!! Like that one where the parents dislike their children's partner and go on a hunt for a more suitable mate - the abuse that gets thrown at the poor kids on that show is horrendous!! Even if it is all scripted theatre - the comments are rather personal and must cause some harm.
David Cuff - 10/09/2008
Brand has generated a great spike in awareness for MTV but probably hasn't helped Barack Obama. Politics is a subject best avoided by music TV presenters - plus not sure I'd trust Boris with a pair of scissors. However, I think the Jonas Brothers are fair game and he could have gone further - MTV does not need to be all things to all young people and can't possibly be cool if it is trying to keep the moral majority on side.
MM - 10/09/2008
It would be a shame if this does end Brand's fledgling career in the US as it would mean he'd be forced to come back to the UK and we'd have to put up with him instead. As David says though, I can't see this doing too much harm for MTV amongst its target audience.
Mark Griffiths - 10/09/2008
Emma, don't blame PC - the people Brand is aiming at are rednecks, the very opposite of PC. PC is only a problem in the minds of people who think that they should be able to say anything, to anyone, about anything, whenever they want, whatever the cost. And, actually, there isn't a person in the world for whom 'anything goes'. Even Bernard Manning had a no-go area \(his mother). We all do. So, while it's easy to laugh at Americans and other people, just be careful that someone, some day does not turn on your own particular foibles. After all, we're not all comedians like Russell Brand who simply don't care and has nothing to lose. That's all PC asks for - that you put yourself in other people's shoes.
jezwaspsrule - 10/09/2008
Emma Lambert - Russell Brand isn't brilliant; he's bloody awful. Can't stand the bloke. Shame that he isn't going to break the US though - means we're stuck with him
g - 10/09/2008
MTV is built on stuff like this. The execs will be loving it. Russell Brand ftw
jezwaspsrule - 10/09/2008
And that Ken Clarke was a terrible chancellor wasn't he? And what about that Ted Heath...
Tom Atkins - 10/09/2008
I saw Ken Clarke when he did the VMA's he was rubbish. Not sure about Ted Heath was he in New Kids?
Darren Davidson - 10/09/2008
Nevermind Heath and Clarke. What about Darling?
jezwaspsrule - 10/09/2008
I think you're on the right tracks about Heath, Tom.... I'm surprised Brand didn't call him 'the grocer' as he's so topical with his humour. WAC
CHRIS ARNOLD - 10/09/2008
Personally I don't like him but after his comments about Bush I'm warming. Honesty doesn't go down well with some people.
Gordon Macmillan - 10/09/2008
The comments about Bush were tired and obvious. Yes he's a cowboy, yes he's not the brightest guy on earth wow what insight. That's what Brand is about. His targets are all easy and his pops are all cheapshots. OMFG he had a go at the clean cut Christians. Did he write his material in the loo before he went on stage. That's my guess.
Fiona Berry - 10/09/2008
I think the most simple observations are often the funniest.. I'd love to see you try and make a crowd that size laugh Gordon Macmillian... I love Brand.
Gordon Macmillan - 10/09/2008
I don't claim to be a comedian.
Rupert Runewitsch - 10/09/2008
Perhaps some of the things he said where not acceptable for younger crowds ears. Although, the sooner Americans can stop taking themselves so seriously, the better. I think the US can learn from extraverts like Brand, in some ways, but definitely not others.
Chris Gregory - 10/09/2008
You idiots - yes of course it's popular and easy to mock Bush and Christians but honestly what sort of material were you expecting on a show squarely aimed at middle America? A lengthy witty monologue regarding Britain's preparations for 2012? Get over it - Brand is a funny guy and more Americans would do well to listen to what he has to say because most of the time it's a damn sight more relevant than most of the drivel the US media churns out
Jacquie Bowser - 10/09/2008
Brand was not funny. I was sitting there cringing at his performance. Hardly anyone was laughing at his jokes and he spoke at a million miles an hour while pacing back and forth like he had ants in his pants.
candace kuss - 10/09/2008
As an American, I found him boring not brave. And there is way better home-grown stuff mocking Bush btw. Check out the amazing Stephen Colbert right in front of George himself and the MSM at the 2006 White House Correspondents Association dinner: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879
Caroline Davies - 10/09/2008
Ants in his pats?? More like crabs...isn't he bit of charmer with the ladies?
Alison Donnelly - 10/09/2008
Whatever about Brand on TV \(and I'm not a fan of his stand-up either), his Guardian sports column is bloody funny.
James Walters - 10/09/2008
He is I think the Sun's Bizarre page "Shagger of the Year".
Richard Edwards - 10/09/2008
Two worlds collide...
Bob Slayer - 10/09/2008
Those that are using this message board to tell us how terrible Brand is as a comedian are missing the point somewhat... We are no longer a society that sit down in front of the Television together as a family to watch Auntie Beeb... Family Entertainment is a dead horse \(although a dead horse that is still being flogged by the likes of the dreadful My Family) Today's media winners take the same approach as the British Empire builders - namely to divide and rule - Something by just a glance down these comments it seems Brand is very good at! QUOTE: Gordon Macmillan - 10/09/2008 "I don't claim to be a comedian." Well stop analysing comedy then!!! It doesnt matter what you think or - if you think his comments are obvious The point is he got a large proprtion of a hard to reach dynamic talking about him and MTV... And creating conversations is what marketing is all about And thats why MTV want him back... \(the fact that in doing so they are going for a safe option thus going against the reasons why they picked him in the first place = a move that will inevitably be followed by diminishing returns - is another discussion x) Bob SLayer www.bobslayer.com
Darren Broadhead - 10/09/2008
Well all i can say if is if the whole event has generated that much response from people in the industry on a web site not devoted to this type of user generated content discourse, then it has done it's job well. Even if you want to put a good or bad label on it.
Bob Slayer - 10/09/2008
what Darren said!
Roger OThornhill - 10/09/2008
so your arguments are that it doesn't matter that no one in the US found Brand funny or controversial because he got people talking and that's all that matters even if they're saying 'who is this english muppet with old crap jokes about our outgoing president?'. and secondly, no one is qualified or has the authority to critique Brand unless they are a comedian themselves. i'd better remember to stop moaning about Gordon Brown as i've yet to serve a tenure as prime minister.
Jennifer Smith - 10/09/2008
I think we're taking all this much too seriously. I'm a grown up and know to take a host for what he/she is...you don't have to agree with him/her. Just laugh...or don't and go on. Honestly anyone in the public eye is subject to scrutiny just by putting themselves out there. Again you don't have to agree or take it to heart...it's one guy's opinion and we're all entitiled to ours.
Lucy Heather - 10/09/2008
The real scandal is that MTV gave awards to a renowned drug abuser with pychiatric issues who neglected her children - Britney Spears. How different from last year when the award went to ... oh yeah, a renowned junkie and alcoholic with pychiatric issues - Amy Winehouse. If you ask me, Brand was hired just to divert attention.
ormiston groove - 11/09/2008
Why's that a scandal? Musicians take drugs. It's a music awards ceremony, not an NSPCC-sponsored celebration of parenting. Have I stratyed on to some weird Daily Mail island within BR? "I hear Brand's a bit of a charmer with the ladies" ... wow, really??
Lucy Barrett - 12/09/2008
Didn't he get fired from MTV after he dressed up as Osama Bin Laden the day after September the 11th? How convenient that MTV forgot that when they booked him to entertain its American audience.
Kiki - 12/09/2008
Well done MTV, a brave move. Although I think Brand over did it a bit, there was a fine line between continually slating a country and being funny and I'm not sure which side he was on. It was still brilliant to watch though. Car crash TV at it's finest!
ed boost - 12/09/2008
candace kuss thanks for that link, can't believe S.C. had the balls to do that...and didn't get shot. oh and the brand thing, america/MTV has had enough exposure to him \(+Borat) to know what was coming.
Jonathan Gilson - 15/09/2008
For crying out loud. Jokes are jokes. If he brought rating up, then hes bl**dy done something. America, you need to loosen up. Dont forget, Britain has been the backbone of a lot of your jokes.