Ok, so I naively thought this day would never come, but I have been busted. I mistakenly believed that I could get through my adult life without this being brought up 13 years later, but people are smart and the internet is wide. So after more than a few “Who me? I don’t know what you’re talking about, haha” comment denials, I’m coming clean. My name is Sherry $herdog, and I was on MTV when I was 17. And it was easily the most embarrassing compilation of moments that could ever be edited together.
I’m an over-sharer, so some folks might wonder why I’d try to hide from this video. And to you I’d say: it’s one thing to invite people into your home and share a video that accidentally features your bra laying out on a bedroom chair or an interview where you flail around nervously or admit that you walk around covered in dog fur and cream cheese smears, but it’s a whole different ballgame to say “Let’s take a time machine back to my most awkward moments as a seventeen year old girl being surprised while life-guarding and told she’ll get to interview Eminem for a show called FANatic on MTV – oh look, I have the whole thing on video for you, let’s all sit down and watch it together.” Now excuse me while I giggle uncontrollably for ten minutes. I do that when I’m nervous.
Allow me to spill a few secrets: shows like this are a smidge set up. It’s not to say that I wasn’t completely Marshall Mathers obsessed (I was) but there are certain things you’re highly encouraged to mention so that you come across as the most deserving fan. Things like “I aspire to be a rapper someday.” I’ll pause while you snort whatever you’re drinking out of your nose. It’s true that my best friend Mariam at high school talent shows (we once donned orange puffy vests and belly shirts and parodied the Eminem/Dre duet Forgot About Dre) but it’s a Jersey thing. You had to be there to understand that it was not meant to be taken seriously. So no, I didn’t actually hope I’d be touring the country as a famous female rapper when I grew up.
Of course the show sets up situations too, like us going to the old burger joint where Eminem used to work before the interview…
… but it was pretty cool as a teenager to see some random restaurant and think “he really worked here just a few years ago flipping burgers?” Fun fact: the people I’m serving at that table in the restaurant are the limo driver and one of the production people who carted us around.
Another fun fact is that I hardly knew the girl who surprised me at the pool and came with me on the entire adventure. See, MTV required that the “friend” of the person being featured was 18 or a parent would have to accompany the fan and the friend (which I’m guessing cramped the crew’s style). So when I was going through the whole “you might be a finalist” phase of the process, they asked me about my friends and I gave a list of all my best 17 year old buddies and they sort of heavily suggested that I list someone over the age of 18. So the girl who worked at the front desk at the Marriott (where I was a lifeguard for years, represent) got listed – and she was the friend they picked to surprise me. And yes, it’s still really cool to be in a limo when you’re 17. Especially if you flash the peace sign with your sleeves rolled up.
Here’s where it gets extra embarrassing. At some point in the interview the word “phat” inexplicably slips out of my mouth. I never said that word before and have never said it since. I can only blame the loss of my whole damn mind at the thought of sitting next to a hip-hop star and somehow thinking $herdog could pull off a term like that. And I couldn’t. It rung in my ears for the rest of the interview while I continued to grin like a crazy person and giggle nervously. Although a lot of this experience is what I like to call “retroactively embarrassing” (since at the time it was really cool and I felt really lucky to be chosen), the moment I realized I said “phat” on national television was the moment that I wanted to punch myself in the face.
Then they asked me to rap. Repeatedly. It’s bad. Very very bad. Oh and about the pigtails, I wanted to wear a ponytail and an arm band (yes, an arm band) but the crew gently suggested the pigtails and no arm band. I’m thankful they nixed the arm band but still a little weirded out by the pigtails. So without further ado…
As for how I even got on the show, my friends dared me to send in a tape since I really was a hardcore fan and they thought I had a shot at being chosen. Meanwhile I believed I had zero chance, hence me doing all sorts of ridiculous things that I thought would never be on TV/YouTube (like sitting in a tub full of M&M’s) because I truly believed with every fiber of my being that I would never make the cut.
MTV does a really cruel thing to make you think you weren’t chosen (at least it felt cruel at the time) in order to get that completely surprised ‘surprise shot’ when they sneak up on you. They’re in pretty constant contact with you for a while to collect things like “what you would ask if you were chosen” and “who you would bring as a friend if you were chosen” and then they say you’re a semi-finalist but it’s not a done deal, and then they cut off communication for a few weeks. Total radio silence. So you go from being hopeful that you might get picked to completely and utterly bummed out that you didn’t make the cut after thinking “dude, I might actually get flown to Detroit to meet Eminem.” Which is a pretty cool concept as a 17 year old.
This is of course when you forget about the footage of yourself in a tub of M&Ms and it sounds like it could be The Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Done and not The Most Embarrassing Thing Ever a decade or so later. But I have to admit that as a teenager it was an amazingly fun time. I got to fly somewhere with a camera crew and without my parents, they put us up in a cool hotel, and Marshall was actually a really nice genuine guy (now I’m going to get weird and tell you that he had the best looking hands I’ve ever seen in my life). And he did kiss my neck, which at the time made me believe we would soon be married and we’d go on to have three bouncing babies named Slim, Shady, and Stan (kidding). Dude, I took a picture of my neck after it happened. I’m that girl (can you believe I managed to bag a guy like John? I still can’t).
So I’m extremely grateful for the experience. It just felt like… let’s not all watch it together on video and relive my teenage awkwardness together. But I guess now my “secret past” is out. In summary: it was pretty amazing (it made “the morning announcements” at my high school – haha), but the fact that the footage from a defunct show from over 13 years ago is now somehow on YouTube is something I never imagined. Oh well. The cat phat is out of the bag.
Now you tell me your most embarrassing secrets so we’re even. Go.
Melissa says
Hahahaha. That is soo awesome, I think this just made me like you even more! Held yoursellf pretty well for being 17!
Allie says
So I had a dream last night that was definitely inspired by your story (I just read it a few days ago). I was 17 again and hanging out with Eminem doing some sort of rap contest… I made it to the finals!
Morgan says
I wanted to share this one with you guys, since you’re the only other bloggers I know of who had celebrity meeting stories. Happy Halloween!
http://livingyoungwildfree.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/morgan-moment-my-first-love/
YoungHouseLove says
Hilarious! I love it!
xo
s
Steven T says
Sher…oh man, how did I miss this post before?!
Ok, well I dont know if I can really beat this…I mean wow. But hey, here’s a shot.
Back in high school, we had the annual powder puff game–Senior class girls versus junior class girls. It was my junior year, and me and some other football players were the girls’ coaches.
Embarrassment #1: With the Sopranos at full-steam on HBO, and everyone at school thinking the coolest thing to do would be a mobster from Jersey, I choose the name “Underboss” for my jersey. Try explaining what that meant to girls you want to ask on a date.
Anyway, I was coaching the offensive line with another guy and we did a drill to see if they’d let through potential defenders (they were tasked with protecting our quarterback). So I’d pretend to be a defender (along with other coaches) and we’d try to break through. They got to be pretty good, and then started getting cocky, finally missing a play and I got through to show them up.
Here’s where it all goes down. This game was insanely popular and gathered the prettiest (as a high schooler, read: HOTTEST) girls in school…girls I’d kill to take on a date. So I start running around like I’m a soccer player who scored a goal, and prepare to do a chest-swan dive. Ya know what I mean, right?
Yeah, except it was a mildly night and I had one mesh shorts that caught on the grass as I slid on my chest. Thus the shorts did not remain where they should have, instead relocating around my ankles. Needless to say, being kind of nerdy, my undergarment selection wasnt much. Yes, Sher…tighty whities on full display to the hottest girls in high school.
Lets let that one marinate as I attempt to tell the rest of this horrific story.
So everyone sees it, and the field–THE WHOLE FIELD–is quiet. I notice that the air is suddenly much chillier than it had been and then a split-second later the full-realization that I’m modeling my Fruit of the Looms off comes up. I tried to laugh it off (in between wanting to cry hysterically that I just destroyed any chance of dating for my high school career).
Yeah, that didnt work. “TW” was a nickname I had to endure for a few weeks. So there you go! LOL…hope it offsets the near-plantinum CD performance of a teen $herdog.
-Steve
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha, nice!
xo
s
vegiebug says
This is basically the best thing I’ve ever seen. Made me laugh so much, you were such a hardcore fan!!
Sharon says
Love, love, loved this post and especially the video! Trying to think of who I would have wanted to meet at age 17. Can’t remember that far back!!! If I had the chance now, hmm, Josh Turner, maybe? I always say, if I hadn’t married my husband, I would have married Josh Turner. Except that I’ve never met the guy and he was married before I even had a clue who he was…..Hmm, my embarrassing moment?? I’m sure I have lots to choose from, but I think I’ve blocked them all out. Oh, I was in an airport getting a flu shot a few years back and wound up being interviewed about it and was on the news! A friend taped it for me. It wasn’t embarrassing except for another friend of mine saw it and told me I should have put more effort into my appearance as you never know when you might meet Mr. Right!!! Well, I did actually meet my husband during that trip, but not in person. We met on eHarmony and the only pics he saw of me were the ones I choose to put up there. Where I had make-up on and was dressed nicer than in a baggy sweatshirt and cargo pants….
Stephanie says
So…my husband and I are moving from Texas (and a house built in 2001, an “old house” for our neighborhood) back up north to Pennsylvania into a house probably built in the early 1900s. I discovered this website over spring break and spent close to 10 hours taking notes on ideas to do with our next house! This post made me laugh though. I totally watched this episode on MTV when it first came out! I wanted SO BADLY to be on FANatic! Very jealous right now!
Donk says
Haha i think eminem probably based stan off you XD
no for real, there are millions of 17 year old girls who would do 100X crazier stuff to get in touch with Justin Bieber, Eminem is at least a lyrical genius.
You still like his music?
Katie says
All I can say is this is awesome. Of course I am saying “awesome” out loud with that amazing Jersey accent. The mini ponytails are so late 90s, hee hee.
Janice Mason says
I thought it was awesome! You should use the word phat more often, I thought it came out really smoothly! I would act and sound like that if I got to meet you and I am a 30 year old woman! You are amazing! Is that enough exclamation points?!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Janice! You’re so sweet!
xo
s
Chasity Dix says
Oh my gosh, as embarrassing as this is for you I am so incredibly jealous that you got to meet Eminem. And that he kissed your neck. Sigh…
Nikki says
I second you Chasity :-)
Veronica says
Oh my gosh! I was watching you’re video on youtube and I came across this website! I’m a huge Eminem fan too and you are so lucky! I’m 16 right now and I love his music. I know you wrote this article like a year ago, but please tell..what was it like meeting Eminem? Was he a nice guy?!? Was he even better looking in person?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, he was cute, although I like skinny guys with light hair and light eyes (like my husband, haha!) so I guess I have a type. He was very nice though, and seemed genuinely passionate about music and his fans.
xo
s
Shaun says
Wow, how lucky you are . i will never get an opportunity like that :( . just want to ask are you still fan of eminem ? or you have totally changed ? because i checked your facebook profile and you didnt even liked his facebook page . if you listened to his new album MMLP2 what is your fav song ?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, I’m still listening fourteen years later. It’s hard to call a favorite from the new album, but the one about his mom (Headlights) is really enlightening to me. I had never heard some of those specific stories (meeting her in the driveway before going to get hamburgers, etc) and I like when he gets real like that.
xo
s
Whitney R. says
I am aware that this post is super old, but I am digging through the archives and… wow. This made my day – no, this made my whole week! This is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen! I love it!!
lilly says
I totally saw this when it first aired. I remember thinking “that girl is soo cool for filling up the bathtub with m&ms!” it was totally original. my other favorite episode was the girl who met jordan knight and had his signature tattooed on her arm. at least you didn’t do that!
Lisa says
i stumbled upon this post via today’s post and i am DYING. this is hysterical!!! and i think you’re my kindred spirit because i was on MTV not once but TWICE. when it first came to Canada I signed up for this birth control sponsored bit they were doing called “Try”… they did these short segments where girls try different activities. I was originally asked to skydive (!!!) but was on vacation at the time so they gave me break dancing. seriously. breakdancing, sherry. the worst part is that i can’t claim i was a teenager… i think i was like 20? it. was. mortifying. they made us pose up against a graffitied wall and everything hahahaha. i’m tearing up at my desk thinking about it.
the second time i auditioned to be on the Hills aftershow…. not sure if it ever made it to the US. but it was a bunch of people sitting on a couch with mics, discussing that night’s episode of the Hills. last time i checked it was still on the mtv canada website but i think it’s gone now… and that was only in 2007!!!! i was shameless!!!!
Heather says
Now my question is which interview was more fun Slim Shady, or Mr. Adler’s phone interview? I guess they really can’t be compared in any way… I think I would love to see them in a room together though! Or a room designed by Jonathan Adler for Eminem!
YoungHouseLove says
That would make my life.
xo
s
Lindsay Mumm says
I feel ya Sherry. I was on TRL in a bright orange bikini requesting TLC’s “No Scrubs” for a hot second. Years later I am still like “whhhhhhhat was I thinking?!?!”
Nikki says
Wow! I am super jealous! Looking at this video transported me back to ’99 when I first heard “My Name Is”…all of my friends were into Jay-Z and Puff Daddy and I heard Em for the first time I was hooked and started telling everyone that he was a way better rapper than all those other guys. Of course I got a lot of smack about it because they thought the song was stupid…I didn’t care…I had every poster, magazine, CD anything that had Eminem I had it. And 15 years later I’m still of fan of Em. I say it today as I did 15 years ago he’s the best rapper ever.
Emily says
Oh my! Who knew you were such a gansta little New Jersey 17 year old?! The amount of times you said ‘dog’ will have me giggling for rest of the day! I loved this show back in the day and remember seeing this episode! Crazy to think that girl is YOU. From gansta rapper to DIY goddess…hilarious.
I will admit I was on an obscure dating show in 2009. Talk about EMBARRASSING! At least you met an idol and can blame age on the calamity. I…cannot. lol. Great experience but I’ll never tell a soul the name of the show. Actually, let’s just forget it happened, ok?! OK! ;-)
Thank you for sharing Sherry!
kate says
I’m so glad john linked to this post because I didn’t start reading the blog until recently and I’m so happy to get to see this!
My question is: DO YOU STILL HAVE THE APRON?!
-kate
YoungHouseLove says
Heck yeah I do.
xo
s