Britney Spears earns scorn for MTV performance

By Dean Goodman

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Britney Spears launched her highly anticipated comeback at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, drawing ridicule by dressing up as a stripper and miming her new single.

The 25-year-old singer, whose professional achievements have been overshadowed by her personal crises in recent years, performed "Gimme More" in a black sequined bikini and knee-high boots.

No longer boasting the buff body that helped drive her to international superstardom almost a decade ago, the mother of two moved sluggishly around the stage at the Palms casino, often with the support of a troupe of dancers. At one point, the camera panned to rapper 50 Cent, sitting in the audience, who looked bewildered by the action on stage.

"She blew it," gossip columnist Perez Hilton told Reuters. "Everybody knows Britney lip-syncs, but that's because she dances so much. She barely even danced in this. It was so bad. It was painful. It was embarrassing. And I loved it!"

Comedian Sarah Silverman also showed no mercy. She took to the stage when the performance was over, declaring that the singer's young children were "the most adorable mistakes you'll ever see."

It was not the only excitement at the two-hour show. Tommy Lee and Kid Rock, both former husbands of model Pamela Anderson, got into a fight while Alicia Keys was performing.

"There were no fists, they were just holding each other, grabbing each other," Tom Higginson, singer of the pop band Plain White Ts, told Reuters. "Security had to break them up."

Almost lost in the shuffle was the fact that Spears' former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake took home four statuettes, including male artist of the year.