MTV’s 2007 Australian Video Music Awards Fest Kicks Off with a Summons for Gossip Blogger Perez Hilton
Popular Celeb Watcher Charged with Stealing Photos from a Paparazzo
Sunday night’s 2007 Australian MTV Video Music Awards—hosted Down Under by Good Charlotte identical-twin musicians Benji and Joel Madden, along with Fergie of Black Eyed Peas fame—got off to an early start on Saturday with the arrival of numerous attendees from the United States, including prolific celebrity blogger Perez Hilton of perezhilton.com. Unfortunately for the man also known as Mario Lavandeira, a photographer by the name of Jamie Fawcett was eagerly anticipating his appearance at Sydney’s International Airport in order to serve a summons accusing Lavandeira of using Fawcett’s photographs of celebs John Mayer and Jessica Simpson without consent. According to Australia’s The Daily Telegraph, Lavandeira initially attempted to avoid accepting the documents before he finally relented.
His pending legal troubles aside, Lavandeira still managed to successfully work the Red Carpet with Australian actress-singer Sophie Monk, and the awards extravaganza came off without a hitch at Sydney’s Acer Arena. Notable winners, most of whom hail from the States, included cohost Fergie’s Sexist Video victory for the single “Fergalicious” and Good Charlotte’s Viewers Choice Award triumph for “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl,” Pink‘s double win for Best Female Artist (“U and Ur Hand”) and Download of the Year (“Who Knew”), and actor Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream, Panic Room, Fight Club) and his band 30 Seconds To Mars‘ Best Rock Video *and* Video of the Year scores for “The Kill (Bury Me).”
American alt rockers Evanescence also took home the Album of the Year top prize for The Open Door, while a rare Aussie winner, Australian Idol first runner-up Shannon Noll, earned a Best Male Artist kudos for “Lonely.” And in the event’s main highlight, local rock trio Silverchair received the first Australian Video Vanguard Award ever bestowed for their “profound effect on the MTV culture.”
To learn more about who got what and what happened to who, take a peak at the official Web site for MTV’s 2007 Australian Video Music Awards.
Fergie photo courtesy of MTV Networks
Perez Hilton/Mario Lavandeira photo courtesy of News Limited
