Lady Gaga gets macho at the 2011 MTV VMAs

Lady Gaga was scheduled to be the opener for the 2011 MTV VMAs. Instead, her jilted ex-lover took the stage to rant about his ex.

"I think it's great that she's a star… a big, beautiful star in the sky," he yelled to the screaming audience. "But how I am supposed to shine?"

How does Lady Gaga respond?

"I'm not real, I'm theater -- and you and I, this is just rehearsal," she told him.

Ok, it wasn't really a dude – as expected, Lady Gaga reprised her male alter-ego, Jo Calderone, to perform her single You and I.

The best part? Britney Spears' utterly confused reaction when the camera panned to her. It was classic.

Gaga's rock-infused version of You and I was capped off with an appearance by Queen guitarist Brian May, who played on the track. Oh, the greasy back-up dancers were pretty hilarious too.

Yeah, it's another Gaga schtick -- but we like it more than her Grammy egg or meat dress.

Watch Lady Gaga perform at the MTV VMAs

Lady Gaga's rise to fame:

Image courtesy MTV

What do you think of Lady Gaga's VMA performance of You and I: Over-the-top or awesome?