British comic had lambasted young group over purity rings during VMAs.
By Jocelyn Vena

The Jonas Brothers perform at the 2008 Video Music Awards
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

Now in the U.K. promoting the "Camp Rock" film after their appearance at the Video Music Awards last weekend, the Jonas Brothers spoke with the BBC about Russell Brand's controversial verbal jabs at them during the show. Brand poked fun at the boys for their purity rings and abstinence pledges.

"For us, it's cool to see that he recognizes we are gentleman," Nick, 15, said.

His older brother, Kevin, 20, speculated that Brand miscalculated the audience. "I think he focused on certain things and didn't move off of them," he said. "People's attention spans in America need more than that."

They also seem to be fans of the comic. "I think he did a good job [at the show]," Nick said. "We saw him on Conan O'Brien and thought he was hilarious."

And the boys didn't let Brand's comments spoil their night. The trio, who performed their single "Lovebug" during the show, just let it slide off their backs. "We had a lot of friends there and everybody's so nice. We had a good time," Kevin added.

Other celebrities already reacted negatively to Brand's comments about the Jonas Brothers. During the show, "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks rushed to the band's defense, saying "I just have one thing to say about promise rings. It's not bad to wear a promise ring, because not everybody — guy or girl — wants to be a slut."

And Paris Hilton also defended the group after the show. She said, "I don't pick on them. That's something cool for a kid to keep, so don't pick on them for that."

And Paris' (sort of) namesake, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton came to their defense

Now that the 2008 VMAs have come and gone, check out all the winners, the most surprising moments, the best red-carpet fashions and more at VMA.MTV.com.

• VMA 2008: The Genius Of Russell Brand
• 2008 VMAs In 60 Seconds

• Jordin Sparks
• Jonas Brothers