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Has MTV Newsman John Norris Been Axed?

The Global Financial Hobo Apocalypse knocked on the door of Viacom today as the media giant laid-off 850 employees, which includes, according to an unconfirmed anonymous rumor made to Gawker, perpetually angry-face MTV correspondent John Norris.

Norris has been with MTV for 15 years (making him the MTV equivalent of Tom Brokaw) and he’s hosted everything from a program on the death of gay student Matthew Shepard to interviews with former Secretary General Kofi-Anan and Mariah Carey.

Like many of you, we know Norris as that guy who tried to take us home from the Limelight when we were nineteen. We still remember sitting at the banquette, phalanxed on both sides by MTV interns and being told by Norris “You know who I am” before watching him pass out on the table.

One of the interns turned to us and intoned seriously, “You know not to tell anyone about this”, to which our younger, twinkier self replied “Who would we tell?” totally unawares that one-day we would wind up the Internet’s go-to gay.

While our heart goes out to the Viacom folks let off today, we can all take small consolation in a silver lining: There’s at least one MTV intern today who’s delirious that his weekend plans have suddenly opened up.

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By:           Japhy Grant
On:           Dec 4, 2008
Tagged: , ,
36 Comments

No. 1 · EdWoody

I saw him in one of Nardicio’s backrooms.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 2:13 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 2 · Joe Moag

Japhy: You really were naive, buddy. You should have gone home with him. You could have dined out on that dirt for years back then.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 2:16 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 3 · burton21

Ha! I knew it.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 2:19 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 4 · Darth Paul

15yrs? No way! It seems like he’s been there longer…

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 2:28 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 5 · Joe Moag

@Darth Paul: I remember him being there in the late ’80s, I think.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 2:31 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 6 · kevin

Hey Japhy – i wonder if John Norris remembers you too?! No, prob not.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 2:57 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 7 · Cam

He was balding back when he joined MTV, and over the years his hair kept getting thicker and thicker and thicker.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 3:03 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 8 · Joe Moag

@Cam: That’s the result of clean living.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 3:07 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 9 · david

holy sh*t – that exact same story happened to me. limelight, banquette, norris. except i was 18 and not his interns – his boyfriend!

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 3:26 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 10 · Joe Moag

After listening to both Japhy’s and David recounts of their experiences with Norris at the Limelight, it sounds like he may be personally responsible for giving the nightclub it’s oh-so-appropriate nickname back in the day, the Slimelight.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 4:00 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 11 · Tim

Ummm…. Crap… and I thought I was special… Wait, if it was at the Palladium does that make it special?

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 4:35 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 12 · Tim

Now wait a minute, he did it to me at The Lure!

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 4:40 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 13 · Cam

Hmm, Norris can only blame having Michael Alig slip something in his drink once or twice for douchy behavior at Limelight. Sounds like he passed that number.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 4:41 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 14 · Joe Moag

You guys are all special! And I am sure that those were some very special moments, with what sounds like a really special John Norris!

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 4:42 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 15 · Jack E. Jett

Yeah, I remember the same thing going down with me. I was at the Limelight and he kept coming on to me. I kept saying no, he had a fresh bottle of poppers, and he kept kept getting me high….in fact he got me rocky mountain high…
oh that’s right, it wasn’t john norris, it was
john denver.

i always get them confused.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 5:08 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 16 · The Gay Numbers

What’s so special about what he did compared to every other guy (straight or gay) searching for ass at a club? Am I missing something?

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 5:13 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 17 · hardmannyc · Member · 1071 comments

MTV’s still on? People still watch it? It still has VJs?? That said, I’d do him.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 5:29 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 18 · Carl

saw him do all of that here in philly on thanksgiving night!!!

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 6:07 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 19 · BB

I’m laughing at reading all this… mainly because I met him at Limelight back in MY twink days. He was blitzed out of his mind and kept asking ME in a slurred voice “Do you know who I am?” The music was loud; I couldn’t make out half the things he was shouting in my poor ear. I went off to get a drink. I returned just in time to see John being carted away by another twink.

Oh well…

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 6:51 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 20 · Bitch Republic

Thank god if it’s true. John Norris is one of the worst things ever to happen to MTV.

I do miss the Limelight. Good times.

http://www.BitchRepublic.net

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 7:22 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 21 · Stephen

The headline is off — he’s not an MTV VJ.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 7:33 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 22 · Scrufff

Me too – only it was in the early 90′s at an underground club in Hollywood. Also no intern, rather his boyfriend. And i thought i was special ;-)

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 7:48 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 23 · Giovanni

Early 90′s – House of Beaut(AY) – no banquette however. Homie gets around!

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 8:15 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 24 · Dan

That’s not correct. I was 20, and he asked “You want some blow?”

And we weren’t sitting, we were standing in the ’80′s room.

Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 11:38 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 25 · seitan-on-a-stick · Member · 1138 comments

Ben Stiller has never looked worse….botched plastic surgery?

Posted: Dec 5, 2008 at 7:29 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 26 · Jesus Mary

Oh, bitter bitter people… are we all claiming here that our own behavior in the dark of the NYC night has been stellar, exemplar and above par? Me thinks not. Pot. Kettle.

Posted: Dec 5, 2008 at 11:18 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 27 · Sarah R.

Yeah, he’s been around longer than 15 years.

Posted: Dec 5, 2008 at 11:22 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 28 · Cam

Did he steal Alan Hunters hair?

Posted: Dec 5, 2008 at 3:51 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 29 · Ray

He hit on me at Spa in 2000. I was drunk and wearing sunglasses and I asked him if I could use his t-shirt to clean them. He asked if the guy I was dancing with was my boyfriend and I said, “no, he’s just my 2 o’clock.”

Posted: Dec 5, 2008 at 6:47 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 30 · scott

forget John Norris, I want AJ HAMMER!!!

Posted: Dec 6, 2008 at 11:17 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 31 · samhain · Member · 6 comments

So let’s see….either you’re all boasting (i.e. same thing you’re accusing him of), or you’re just very publicly insulting some guy for being wasted and hitting on you. Sad and mean.

Posted: Dec 7, 2008 at 9:57 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 32 · Jere L Griffin Jr

LOL
I was in High school In Orlando Florida And well ya Know a beer is a beer! :)~LOVE JJ

Posted: Dec 7, 2008 at 6:31 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 33 · jarvisbearcub

How did John Norris last longer on MTV than Kurt Loder?

He is a vegan though, so that’s cool.

Memories….

And for the record, his most important work by far was his indepth work hitting on.. I mean interviewing NKOTB!!!

Posted: Dec 8, 2008 at 1:18 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 34 · EdWoody

@samhain: Not a single one of the posts saying he hit on them has been insulting, just reporting the facts. You’re the one reading negative connotations into that.

You’re right, everyone does it. The point here is that he’s a (slightly) public figure, which makes it a matter of interest. And what’s the point of being a celebrity if you can’t use it to get ass?

Posted: Dec 8, 2008 at 2:49 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 35 · Twinki Romano

I used to work alongside John in a candy factory in the Castro. It was the first job for both of us. We worked on the fudge line, packing product for shipping. No one ever joked about it.

Posted: Dec 9, 2008 at 1:16 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 36 · JR

Norris had two stints at MTV. The first was 1986 to 1990. He returned in 1996, but I thought he had already left MTV a couple of years ago.

Posted: Jun 9, 2011 at 7:09 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]

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