| Jesse Camp | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 4, 1979 Granby, Connecticut, USA |
| Occupation | Cable television personality, Musician |
Jesse Camp (born Josiah Jesse Holden Camp IIII, November 6, 1979) was the winner of the first Wanna Be a VJ contest on MTV. He beat out Dave Holmes for a VJ job on the popular music video show Total Request Live (TRL), and also hosted the short-lived Lunch with Jesse, which was canceled in 2002.
Contents |
During the course of Wanna Be a VJ, it was believed that he was homeless because he projected the image of a "street kid." However, controversy arose when it was discovered that he had grown up and attended private school in Connecticut.[1]
The Village Voice reported that an internet source, known only by the handle "UglyPig", claimed to have cast over 3,000 votes for Camp in the Wanna Be a VJ contest, exploiting a security flaw in the system.[2]
Camp held his position as an occasional TRL host for one year. When he left the series, Thalia DaCosta won the contest to replace him, who in turn was a VJ on the network for about a year. Upon leaving Camp attempted to parlay his MTV fame into a rock career under the name Jesse & the 8th Street Kidz on the Hollywood Records label. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine[3] described the hair metal–leaning album as "unbearable".
In late 2006, he was reportedly working at a Los Angeles–area pet supply store called Centinela Feed & Supply. In 2008 he began working for a firm called "Telefund" as a caller, raising money for non-profit liberal and progressive organizations.[4]