Audrina Patridge recalls being 'humiliated' by Justin Timberlake at 2007 VMAs
Audrina Patridge doesn't think much of Justin Timberlake.
In her new memoir, Choices: To the Hills and Back Again, the reality star, 37, called out the "SexyBack" singer's "rude, diva behavior" when she helped present him with a Moonman at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
"We were invited to so many awards shows, and even asked to present a few times," Patridge wrote in an excerpt of her book, which is out Tuesday. "I'll never forget the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, in particular. Lauren [Conrad], Whitney [Port] and I were onstage to present the award for Male Artist of the Year."
She said Conrad and Port "were beyond excited when Justin Timberlake won" — beating Akon, Robin Thicke, T.I. and Kanye West — "because they were superfans. His wasn’t my kind of music, so I couldn’t have cared less, but I was excited for them." However, Timberlake — clearly not a The Hills fan — "wouldn't even come up to us and accept the award in front of a packed house."
Timbaland, who performed with Timberlake that night, then came onstage, took the award from the trio and presented it to JT himself "as we backed off to the side." (In her book, Patridge incorrectly recalled it being Chris Brown who stepped in. Timberlake mentioned Brown in his speech.)
Patridge said the whole thing "devastated" Conrad and Port while she was "annoyed at his rude, diva behavior."
Timberlake's speech just exacerbated her feelings.
"As if that wasn't bad enough, Justin took center stage and said to the crowd: 'MTV, play more damn videos. We don't want to see the Simpsons on reality television," as Jessica and Ashlee had shows on the network in the mid-aughts and The Hills catapulted its stars — also including Heidi Montag — to fame after it premiered in 2006.
Patridge saw his comments as a "personal attack" on reality stars while "Lauren's jaw dropped. We were humiliated."
That era — the aughts — was a weird one for celebrity, especially Timberlake. He broke out from boy band NSync and his 2006 album FutureSex/LoveSounds was a mega-hit. But he also broke up with girlfriend Britney Spears, exploiting their 2002 split in interviews and song as she publicly struggled. He also left Janet Jackson to fend for herself after Nipplegate at the 2004 Super Bowl.
While addressing his treatment of Spears and Jackson in 2021, Timberlake said, in part, that he was "deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right."
Timberlake hasn't commented on this recollection. Yahoo Entertainment has reached out to his rep and will update this story if he does.
The Hills was a mega-hit for MTV during its run — getting a boost from Kristin Cavallari after Conrad left in 2009. A spin-off The Hills: New Beginnings premiered in 2019 — with Patridge back — but was canceled earlier this year.
