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.
Cori says
Absolutely LOVE it! I agree with all who have been impressed with how confident you were and how well you articulated at 17. Maybe this has already been answered (sorry! there are so many comments) but how did you show this to John for the first time?? And how did he take it??
YoungHouseLove says
I waited about three months and then casually worked it into conversation. of course he wanted to see it, so I tried to prepare him, but he just died laughing the whole time. Still kept dating me though! Whew.
xo,
s
Jacqueline says
Haha! Funny! You are very brave for sharing this with everyone Sherry! But thanks for giving us all a good laugh! :-D
How long into your relationship with John did he get to see this clip?
I wonder if Eminem remembers this.
YoungHouseLove says
I like to think that Marshall completely forgets it, but about a year later I saw him on TRL and he remembered. Haha. Maybe not anymore though. As for John, I waited about three months and then showed it to him. He cracked up the whole time but went on to marry me, so I was quite relieved it wasn’t a deal breaker. Haha.
xo,
s
Laura says
Sherry this is the coolest thing ever! Don’t be embarrassed, you’re my hero haha!!
megan says
Your still just as cute now. Clara will get a good laugh when she is older.
Cathy says
That was phat! Clearly the roots of $herdog run deep.
When I was 19 I was working in an ice cream shop right on the harbor in Martha’s Vineyard. One day around 5 p.m. a huge boat pulled up and a minute later I was looking at Billy Joel. He placed his order (a small vanilla frozen yogurt cone) and as I was making it I was thinking about what I would say to him that was cool and memorable. I handed it to him, and he said “that’s a small?” to which I replied . . . wait for it . . . “you should see our large!!” He looked at me in a way that confirmed that I was indeed the world’s biggest dork and paid for his cone (and didn’t leave a tip).
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha, that’s so funny! At least it was a coherent sentence! I would have screamed “you should see our small!” or something else that makes no sense. Haha.
xo,
s
Paulene says
Sherry, YOU ARE AMAZING! I finally got a chance to sit down and watch the whole video. You were so confident, and funny even then! I could only WISH I had that kind of confidence and personality at that age! And those were some great questions for Eminem – I don’t think I knew of any 17-year-old that would have been so thrilled to have a discussion much less come up with interesting questions!
Thank you so much for sharing this and owning it. Every time I’ve viewed this post, it’s made me so happy! Thank you for that. I’ve never commented before, but have been a follower for so long. I think you are more adorable than Clara now and that’s saying A LOT. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Paulene. You’re so sweet.
xo,
s
lauren says
when i was a freshman in high school, my friend was dating this TOTALLY PUNK ROCK girl who had like…spiked pigtails on top of her head? it sounds weird, and it was. but i thought she was so cool, and everyone else thought she was cool. so i did my hair like that for a couple months. turns out it was NOT cool at all. good thing it’s captured forever in my high school yearbook, and as a joke, someone sent it in to asian man records, and i got that super embarrassing school picture printed in the liner notes of one of their compilations. so every time i went to indie record stores, i’d see my ugly freshman hairstyle. rough times for this mega poser.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I think it sounds cool! I’m telling you, pigtails were totally in at some point! Haha.
xo,
s
Jennifer says
I think Eminem was TOTALLY checking you out when you walked up those steps! That video was hilarious – thanks for sharing!
Amanda says
It’s okay Sherry. I was obsessed with Eminem as well when I was a tween/teenager. I didn’t want to be a rapper or anything but I had a love for him and listened to him on MuchMusic (Canada’s version of MTV) and cd’s of him all the time.
Emily says
Um, did anyone else notice that Em said “Wow!” when Sherry walked in?! I think he was into you, $herdog!
Also I’m totally a HUGE fan too. So much so that my 12 year old step daughter bought me his autobiography for Christmas last year and I opened it in front of our entire conservative baptist family. Aw-kward.
Embarrassingly enough I finished it the next day.
But I’d like to say that as a writer it makes sense that you’d be drawn to Eminem. He’s a foul-mouthed poet.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s too funny! I haven’t read his autobiography yet but it sounds intriguing! And amen to the foul-mouthed poet.
xo,
s
Carmen says
You made my weekend. So funny.
1. I love that you made (and kept) a scrapbook of the event. 17-year-old me would have done the same.
2. Clara is going to love this. Anyone raised by such great role models is bound to have a great sense of humor and a heart full of understanding.
3. I can’t believe you didn’t title this post “cleaning out my closet.”
$herdog, I hope you’re feeling better now that it’s out in the open and we all love you more for it. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Okay Carmen – thanks to bullet #3, you are officially the new blog post title-r of YHL. Can’t believe we missed that opportunity.
-John
Hayley M. says
You are officially the COOLEST person EVER. No really. We should be besties.
Kim says
FYI, Gilbert’s Lodge is my FAVORITE restaurant ever. I don’t know if you actually ate there when you were there, but it’s AMAZING
Cristin says
This was awesome. Thanks for sharing. I was on a reality show RECENTLY. It was called America’s Worst Driver. So yeah. I saved utter embarrassment for my 30s.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow! I didn’t even know that show existed.
-John
Robin says
Is it just me, or does John have some Eminem-like qualities? They kind of look alike!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, he does have light eyes and hair. I guess I have a type!
xo,
s
Rachel says
I laughed so hard reading your story, $herdog. Hilarious. And honestly, it made me like you more.
Let’s be honest…no one looks back on 17 and thinks, “man, I was AWESOME.” Unless they say it ironically…or they actually DID peak in high school, and in that case, they should get to own that statement.
I was obsessed with My So-Called Life. Obsessed. And when I went to see RENT on Broadway with my mother when I was 14ish, Wilson Cruz (Ricky) was playing Angel. I was pretty much in love with him (despite the fact that I’m quite clearly not his type). I got to meet him in the lobby after the show, and I cried. I opened my mouth and nothing came out, so my mother had to talk for me. I still have a photo with him to commemorate my humiliation, and my AOL handle (yup) and online RPG character names (yup) became AngelCruz (Angel for his character, Cruz for his last name).
And that’s just one example of the dork I was. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha, I love it! I was so in love with My So-Called Life. OMG, Jordan Catalano. I die.
xo,
s
Chelsea Asermely says
haha this is priceless! You are so cute in it and hilarious!! You forgot to mention how you do this weird arm thing when you ask what his advice for the youth is? haha that is so something I would do.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I think I’m shaking my bracelet down my arm. No idea. Haha. Burger pulls moves like that when he’s stretching though.
xo,
s
Arianne says
This is by far THE best thing I have seen in a long long time. We all have those moments and this is such glorious one. I am crying from laughing so hard. Represent $herdog!! HAHAHA xo
Sangeeta says
The video is very funny, and i agree with everyone that you have a great TV presence. May be you can have a second career with it :)
Is this the blog that is going to take the number one spot for number of comments (Except giveaways)?
YoungHouseLove says
I actually checked on that on Friday because I was curious. It has surpassed other 1000+, non-giveaway posts (like this one about breastfeeding) but so far is lagging behind our decision to not do a banquette in the kitchen (1371 comments), announcing Clara’s birth (1643 comments) and Clara’s birth story (2136 comments). So in short – Eminem is a popular topic, but not as popular as our little bean!
-John
Erica says
LOVE IT! I think I remember that episode of Fanatic. I used to watch MTV all the time. Sorry that you got outed. I think my most humiliating moment was when my little sister read my diary out loud to the boy I had this HUGE crush on for the longest time. His little sister was my little sister’s best friend, so she was over at our house all the time. I haven’t seen him probably since high school, but I swear, I was so embarrassed every time I saw him since- and this happened in 7th grade! I am sooooo thankful my embarrassing episodes weren’t aired on MTV. But I think you looked super cute and together, and I like the pigtails. They were very 90’s. :-)
Alysse says
Ahaha I LOVE it!! I was also an Eminem uber fan. He lived minutes away from me so, needless to say, I stalked (in a completely legal way). Here are a few of my “phat” moments to hopefully ease your embarrassment:
– Frequent drive-bys (then he moved to a gated community)
– Followed cars into gated community for a drive by (oops…followed a cop in and got kicked out)
– Served him ice cream when he came to DQ! Yes, it took everything in me not to ask him if he wanted an m&m blizzard. (I called my friends to come see…he left, annoyed).
Guess I never thought of visiting his old job!? Man, if we teamed up back then, poor man wouldn’t have stood a chance.
LOVE your bravery to post this! Your aspiration to be a white rapper is fabulous!! I’ve had a post about my top 10 embarrassing moments (relative to the blog, of course) sitting on the back burner, but I think I’ll ultimately have to do it. People absolutely love you for this! haha Great work $herdog.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, nice stalking skillz Alysse! High five girl! And I’m so proud of you for holding your tongue about the M&M Blizzard thing. I couldn’t control my mouth when I was in that room with him- hence my creepy I-want-to-skin-you-and-wear-you perma-grin. Haha.
xo,
s
Ilse den besten says
Wow! Don’t be embarresed! The vid is great, you’re very spontaneous! I am 21 years old now and still a big fan of Eminem, I’d love to get to meet him now, even if it requires me wearing pigtails ;)
And Eminem is very sweet too :) (He said you were cool right?)
Have you still got the apron he signed?
YoungHouseLove says
He was very nice to me, for sure! Even though I was doing my best to act like a crazy grinning stalker. Haha. Maybe he’s used to having that effect. Haha. As for the apron, I do still have it. It’s lovingly tucked away in a drawer.
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
You animated the bear on the wall – a little glimpse into the future Sherry!
Jaclyn says
Haha! That’s totally phat, er, awesome. Hey, at least your Most Embarrassing Teenaged Moment happened because you got to meet a celebrity. Mine… hmmm… well, let’s put it like this: I’m basically Bubble Girl, as in, I should live in one. I have pretty much every environmental allergy ever invented (thankfully, no food allergies). My mom thought that my uncontrollable swelling and itching and turning red and tears streaming down my face was some kind of super high budget way to get out of mowing the lawn, so she would make me mow and rake despite my obvious agony. So, one day, I’ve just finished raking and my face is turning into a red balloon and my mom announces that we are taking my little brother and his friend to see some super dorky kids’ movie. I’m 16, I really don’t want to see this movie anyway, and I’m now totally uncomfortable because I’ve spent the last two hours covered in grass, to which I am allergic. I look DIS.GUST.ING. Fun fact: the movie theater in town was where all the hottest boys in my high school worked. They had never noticed me before, and that was the day they all picked to say hi to me (a Dear Diary moment I’d been dreaming of for years) – while I’m waiting in line to see a kids’ movie with my mom and two ten-year-old boys, still wearing my gardening clothes and looking like a walking before picture from a Benadryl ad. And they never said hi to me again. Yeah, I’d rather have met Eminem. =)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man, you painted a painful picture. I totally feel for you. On the bright side, you could only look better the next time he saw you. Haha. It’s all up from there!
xo,
s
Ashley says
I was cracking up the entire time I read this. My husband was the MTV Fanatic for Blink-182. It was their first live show and my then 18 year-old husband is shown enthusiastically rocking out with purple hair and a lip ring. Oh, and he definitely did the run naked thing for his submission video. Twelve years later it has become required viewing among our friends who don’t hesitate to share with one another to my husband’s dismay.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s so funny! I feel like I vaguely remember his naked antics. Haha.
xo,
s
LaDonna says
This is so funny. After I graduated from college in 2003 I was under employed and working 2 part time jobs. My mom sent my story into the Dr. Phil show. One of the producers contacted me for a phone interview but I guess my situation was too average. So glad I never made it on the show.
Kitty says
How’s this for embarrassing: I read the comments before watching the video, and got about 90% through them before realizing you were in a tub full of M&Ms because HE’S Eminem. Yeah.
Rue says
Sherry, I think you need to take on a new career as a white rapper. :) Love it!
Elizabeth Buck says
Wow!! That is awesome!!! I would have love to meet eminem and still would be excited even though I’m not a huge fan like I once was!! But that is just awesome I wouldn’t be embarrassed of it!!
Jen C. says
That’s too bad about the armband! I remember how cool they were then. My friends convinced me to buy one to wear to senior prom – I didnt. BUT I did water snakeskin pleather mini shorts to after prom-rockin the platforms like you had on in the video! Gotta miss that late 90s/2000 fashion! Eminem just transports me back to high school. Keep it real $herdog!
Jen C. says
Ps my friend & I wanted to be white female rappers too. Inspired by eminem & the beastie boys. We wrote raps & were going to call ourselves ” the lords of the jungle” hahah
YoungHouseLove says
Ha! It does have a ring to it…
-John
Brooke says
$herdog’s got street cred! This was so fun to see. Thanks for sharing.
Katy says
so funny – i do remember watching this years ago! they showed it on MTV Germany as well! :)
Amanda Rae says
So I think we all want to know: Where is that apron!?
I vote for a weekly/monthly rap cooking segment! ;D
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- it’s tucked away safely in a drawer so I only get embarrassed every month or so when I see it.
xo,
s
MelissaG says
O. M. G. I’m only a minute or so in, I’m going to have to come back to this one when I have a few more minutes. This is priceless…I give you lots of credit, videos of myself from that age are totally embarrassing but never been on youtube or national tv. Good for you for “coming clean”.
Stacy says
Sherry, this post just confirms that you really do a great job at connecting with folks. You were made for the blog-world! I always thought it was funny that, as a white girl myself, I could appreciate Eminem’s work. Now, I don’t feel so alone ;). Just wondering…was he just as surprised that you were white as you were suprised that a “white rapper could be so skillful?” :)
YoungHouseLove says
Bwahahahah. I think everything about me could have potentially been surprising. Let’s take my frankenstein shoes and my pigtails for starters. Haha.
xo,
s
Miranda says
My most cringe-worthy moment from high school ALSO revolves around Eminem. So embarrassing, and reading your post made me feel less alone. Funny, but true. And all things considered, I think you rocked that interview! :)
I was at a state-wide National Honor Society conference and decided last minute to run for one of the leadership roles. Most people had been planning their campaign for weeks, so I felt like I had to do something to stand out past their fancy signs. I was a little obsessed with Eminem, too, so I thought it would be brilliant to rap “My name is” and enlisted several friends in the audience shout back “Mandy Johnson” (my name). It definitely did not catch on with the audience. Did I mention this was in North Dakota? Eeek, seriously, just left a whole heap of teenage pride on the stage. I haven’t told anyone about that in ages. So there you go! Confession bonding. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that’s awesome. I was hoping the end of the story would be “and I won by a landslide!” No? :)
-John
Miranda says
Ha–nope, definitely lost! :)
Shannon Rose Bell says
First time commenter…but have been reading for a while, this is AMAZING. I can’t believe how great it is…thanks for sharing!!! lol
monica says
OMG!! I can’t believe how awesome this is. I admit, I knew all the words to 8 mile myself, but I wasn’t a crazy superfan. (he’s white!) And I totally wore my hair like that in high school! Must have been a 90’s thing. Have a phabulous day. haha
Allison says
Best part by far: “And I’m an aspiring white rapper ….”
becca robison says
Hysterical! Really cute ( & cool)! Thanks for sharing : )
Angela says
I wish you could see my jaw on the floor right now.
H I L A R I O U S ! !
I’m so glad you shared that with us!!
Tiffany says
I just watched your video and I’m so envious! Who would’nt want to meet Eminem when they were 17! It was awesome! Bet every girl in your high school was jealous!
Chelsey says
That just made my day!!
Sally says
$herdog you are AWESOME!!! I’m seriously impressed with how composed and confident you seem at 17. Yeah, you sound like a 17-year-old fan(atic), but so what? I see nothing to be embarrassed about here.
Jennifer says
Just had to add to the comments and say what a fun and hilarious story. Loved it!
jenny says
I want to know how long it took you to tell John about this incident lol
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- around three months in I spilled the beans. He died laughing but thank goodness it wasn’t a deal breaker!
xo,
s
Brianna says
They totally told you what to say at the end didn’t they? I was on Total Request Live when I was 15 and since I was from Texas, they told me to say, “Straight from the Diiirty South, I’m here to announce Nsync’s new video “Dirty Pop”!” Now we can both die of embarrassment.
YoungHouseLove says
Niiiiiice. Oh, and Sherry doesn’t totally remember about the end of hers but it’s entirely possible!
-John
Bethanyblntn says
all I have to say was … that was “phat”. LOL!
Dusti says
GIRL- He was totally into you. Did you catch the subtle “wow” when you walked into the room?? AND you were totally adorable. Don’t be embarrassed. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Dusti! I think he was just being nice, but we’ll never know. Haha.
xo,
s