Chelsea Handler Refuses To Sing Or Dance At VMAs

Chelsea Handler
Photo: MTV News

VMA host Chelsea Handler is good at certain things, like telling cutting jokes, writing hilarious books and making her male staffers get dolled up in clothes from Madonna and Lourdes' Material Girl line.

But the "Chelsea Lately" host knows her limitations.

"I've actually watched a bunch of the VMAs from over the past few years and there was definitely a lot of singing and dancing," she told MTV News' Jim Cantiello about her first time hosting the MTV Video Music Awards, which air on Sunday, September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. "I'm not a dancer and I'm not a singer, and I don't have the kind of ass that should be mooned. I mean it's sweet, it's a sweet ass, but it's little and it's white."

Handler's plan is to leave the singing and dancing to the professional musicians on the bill, such as performers Usher, Eminem, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, B.o.B, Drake, Linkin Park, Nicki Minaj, Paramore and Florence & the Machine — along with Travie McCoy, Jason DeRulo and Robyn, who will take the stage with this year's VMA house artist, deadmau5.

"I'm there to be funny, kind of, so hopefully I'll just kind of doing that," she said. She will, of course, bring along her trusty "little nugget" sidekick, Chuy Bravo, who, she realized, is a good dancer and might just show off his moves during the show. "He's like a Moonman," she said. "He's great to look at. It's, like, very easy to start laughing once you see him."

As for any pressure she might be feeling to top past hosts such as fellow comedians Chris Rock and two-timer Russell Brand, the veteran stand-up said she's not sweating it. "I don't think you can really try to top anyone, you just kind of have to do your thing. It's gonna be great, it's gonna be fun. It's the perfect kind of loosey-goosey environment for me to get away with what I do."

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through September 12.