Leave John Mayer alone...

You either love him or you hate him. Chances are, if you are a 16-25 female, you will love every pore on John C Mayer's body. However if you are someone of my demographic profile (a male, ridiculously arrogant, pretentious 20-something university-educated wanker), chances are you will loathe him. However as I have done with another well known "douchebag", being Kanye West, I will go into bat for today's object of vilification for what I see as a minor transgression, the media's lack of ability in "getting it", and their rampant tall poppy syndrome.

No one knows how to play the celebrity game better than John Mayer. And that is all it appears to be for him; a game. Dating the two Jessicas, two ladies who are amongst the most recognisable sex symbols on planet Earth was no doubt part of his game plan. You can't tell me that he wasn't sitting in a spa with Ms "Sexual Napalm" herself, spraying champagne everywhere, scooping caviar out of a fish's uterus with his hand and laughing as the girls that want to be Jessica Simpson and the boys that wish they could be John Mayer buy his CDs, mp3s and DVDs with much fervor. His head pops up spriuking products and on infinite amount of television shows. Everything he does that resembles traditional celebrity excess and behaviour is seemingly done with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, with his twitter page and live performances offering a knowing wink to the game that he is playing.

Unfortunately, John Mayer's game, and the associated humour has been lost on many in his latest interview for Playboy. Comments about his preference to only sleeping with white girls, his penis being like a "white supremacist, Jessica Simpson being like "sexual napalm" and his dropping of the "n" word have fuelled much controversy and anger. The vitriol was so great that he broke down on stage under the weight of it and vowed to tone down his controversial (yet highly entertaining) behaviour in the media. By saying he is giving up "the sound bite game, the media game", it is a dead giveaway as the intent of his comments and behaviour over his career.

Claims that John Mayer is a racist, precious cry baby have been used ad nauseum since, and in my opinion they are utterly unfair. John Mayer has been crucified for being honest and trying to be entertaining. I know it's hard to take, but maybe, just maybe, some people don't want to have it off with black chicks and prefer to sleep with white girls (me included). That isn't racist. I actually think the comment was hilarious. Dropping the "n" word in the context of being accepted by the black community (i.e. having an "n.... pass") is not a case of him trying to be racist and offensive. The backlash is hypersensitivity and tall poppy syndrome at its most pernicious. It is ironic that the same media who have lapped up Mayer's behaviour in the past are the first to criticise him for it.

As I said and as he has conceded himself, John Mayer was just playing the game. He is very talented, but talent doesn't necessarily make one rich and famous. Where there once was no correlation between talent and popularity for John Mayer (i.e. less fame than his talent deserved), he has expertly stirred the pot, tweaked his image and hung out with the right crowd and now, arguably, his level of fame at least matches what his level of talent deserves as a result of his "extra-curricular activities". He is smarter than people credit him, and is probably far smarter than many of his critics. Leave him alone I say, there is no shame in having a racially selective penis.