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Video vixen Bobbie Brown can poke fun at her love life today, but things weren’t always a laughing matter for the “Cherry Pie” star.
The model and Sunset Strip sex symbol recently released her second book titled “Cherry on Top” after experiencing a devastating fall that could have ended her life.
The 50-year-old insisted the horrifying experience inspired her to check off her bucket list, including pursuing an unlikely career in stand-up comedy. She also reflected on her past experiences, including her former marriage to Warrant rocker Jani Lane, who passed away in 2011 at age 47 from alcohol intoxication.
Brown spoke to Fox News about her life-changing injury, pursuing comedy, how Lane could have benefitted from the #MeToo movement in his lifetime and what dating is really like today.
Fox News: Was there ever a point where you wanted to escape the "Cherry Pie" girl persona?
Bobbie Brown: There was a time when I would go, "Oh God, not that again." I had done so many other things beyond just being in a music video and yet I was just the "Cherry Pie" girl. It was bulls--t, I thought. But the older I got, the more I embraced it.
The reality is that this is how most people know me. This is why most people are interested in me. And frankly, this is probably why we’re talking right now. It’s gotta be something I need to embrace. And it was never a negative experience in my life so there’s no need to have negative feelings towards it. I don’t need to make it a negative experience. I’ve embraced it. I’m totally OK with it today.
Fox News: What inspired you to write this book?
Brown: I had just gone through a devastating life change. I’ve fallen down the stairs [in 2018] and almost killed myself. I literally was like, "What am I doing with my life?" I had a rude awakening. The doctors said 50 percent of people who’ve had my type of fall and hit their head die instantly. I landed headfirst into a table. So I was very lucky.
Bobbie Brown today. (Photo courtesy of Bobbie Brown.)
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I was looking like the Elephant Man for the next three months. I would look in the mirror every day and say, "What am I doing? What’s my purpose? What’s my point? What am I doing for joy?" I just came to a decision that I needed to make a change and check off my bucket list. I had so many fans who wrote to me about my first book "Dirty Rocker Boys." I just felt I needed a second book. There were more stories to tell. So I picked up where I left off.
Fox News: How are you doing today?
Brown: My head’s OK *laughs*. I had a permanent dent in my forehead for a really long time. No permanent damage, thank God. But it made me question everything. It made me realize I wasn’t living really. I was just going through the motions. I needed to make some major decisions and fulfill myself.
I feel like we sometimes get stuck in a rut and just live day-to-day without really being happy. Nothing’s really happening and there’s no joy. So I just pushed myself to live. I started doing stand-up comedy. I wrote this second book. I started a podcast. Dating is probably the last thing on my list. But I don’t really have time. So it’s kind of good *laughs*.
Jani Lane and Bobbie Brown attend BMI Awards Gala on May 21, 1991, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. ((Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Fox News: How difficult was it to relive some of your memories with ex Jani Lane in this book?
Brown: It’s always cathartic. Usually, when I’m talking about it, it’s because I still have those feelings of non-closure with him on so many levels. To be able to talk about it gives me some closure. And it’s therapeutic in the same sense.
I also feel like it will help other people out there who might be feeling the same way or have had the same experience with their spouses, their friends, whoever. It’s good for me to be honest because somebody out there is going through the same type of feelings I’m experiencing. It’s comforting for people to know they’re not alone in their thoughts and experiences. They’re not crazy. I feel like it gives people a sense of a connection that we’re all the same.
Fox News: You describe there was no #MeToo movement during the time when Jani could have used it the most.
Brown: At the moment that he admitted [he was drugged and raped by a member of a famous heavy metal band and their manager], it was devastating to hear. He admitted this to me before his death. It was traumatizing to watch him reveal those things and how much it had affected his life up to that point. When we were married I had no clue. This occurred when he was just starting out on the Strip. So when I'm hearing all of this with him, I’m crying with him. I was going, "We have to do something, we have to say something." He was like, "No! No!" It was a humiliation for a man to be in that position.
Jani Lane of Warrant performs at Rock The Bayou on August 31, 2008, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Jay West/WireImage/Getty)
It’s so emasculating and humiliating. It would have been humiliating for him. So we couldn’t say anything. Instead he lived with this anger inside. He felt like he couldn’t say anything because he was a man. He was raised to be a man, not to cry. It was all mind-f--king. I could see how it would have been devastating and humiliating for him to speak up. I got his perspective from it, but at the same time, I felt so hopeless for him, knowing that he felt he couldn’t say anything. And wouldn’t. That affected him greatly his whole life. It was part of the reason he drank. It’s sad really.
Fox News: You wrote how you considered comedy professionally after your fiancé got high and married another blonde.
Brown: So that’s referring to Tommy Lee marrying Pamela Anderson. At the moment, it seemed like the most tragic, bulls--t to ever happen to somebody. But when I look back at it today, just like with a lot of my experiences, I have to laugh at it. I mean, who the f--k does that? Who marries somebody after four days? Why does that kind of s--t happen to me?
It’s funny now. It’s not really funny, haha. It’s more like, who does that? I have a lot of moments in my life that make me question things. Like doing laundry and then falling down the stairs headfirst. Who does that? My life is kind of laughable, in a way. I have to make light of it. Otherwise, it could be pretty tragic. If I don’t make light of it, I will probably go down a dark path.
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Tommy Lee of Motley Crue and then-girlfriend Bobbie Brown. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images)
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Fox News: A lot of comics poke fun at their personal lives. You initially didn’t. Why?
Brown: I am self-deprecating in my stand-up. I’m starting to use more of my personal life in my stand-up. In the beginning, I just felt like I touched on everything I needed to share in my first book. My comedy wasn’t a continuation of that. I just didn’t think it was really funny.
The only thing my comedy really revolves around is my love life, or lack thereof, specifically what it’s like to actually pursue dating in this day and age with dating apps. How weird it is for people to meet through dating apps. And what that does to a guy. It’s all shocking what they really think and say to you. I make jokes about that, the comments I get and the dates I’ve had.
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Fox News: What do you make of modern dating?
Brown: It’s annoying. To have to keep up with that type of interaction, just dating apps in itself – it’s ridiculous to me. It blows my mind. It’s frustrating to have to keep up with that stuff just to maintain relevance in the dating world… I think at this point, I just might die alone. I don’t know if I want to go through all this trouble to have a boyfriend or date somebody. It’s kind of ridiculous. Can’t we just do things like we used to? I guess not.
Fox News: Are you still pursuing stand-up?
Brown: I am! I’m not as heavily into it as I was in the beginning. I have other projects in the works. But I still go up about twice a month now… But my podcast is freaking hilarious. Sharise Neil and I have been friends for over 30 years. She was previously married to Vince Neil. That’s how we all met.
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I am considering turning "Dirty Rocker Boys" into a movie right now. I’m pitching that right now… Nobody served me in the first book as far as attorneys go. You can’t be sued for telling the truth. I’ve heard people say, "She’s lucky I don’t sue her." Well, try to. I didn’t lie about anything. If anything, I omitted a lot of things you should be grateful that I didn’t mention.
Fox News: Who would play you in a film?
Brown: God, people ask that all the time. I can honestly say there’s not one person that makes me go, "Her for sure." People say Jennifer Lawrence a lot. I think it’s her personality… But I haven’t thought about it on that level yet. I’m not sure. But there’s a new famous somebody every week now. So who the hell knows?
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Fox News: What’s your relationship like with your daughter today?
Brown: She and I are very close. I’ve been very honest with her my whole life. Of course, I wasn’t able to be the mom that I wanted to be. I do have regrets when it comes to that. But she is a wonderful, well-developed child who is forgiving, loving — all the things I instilled in her. I’m just so proud of her. I’m incredibly lucky.
Fox News: How important has it been to been for you to be completely open and honest with her?
Brown: That’s my motto with everyone in my life. I’m so honest that it’s too much sometimes. I tell too much of the truth. That can be loved or hated. There’s no gray area with that kind of personality trait. Some people are offended by it and some people totally cherish it. That’s just who I am. I’ve always been this way. And I thought it was a good way to be with my child.
It kept her from having to experience a lot of the things that I did growing up. My mom and I just didn’t have that kind of relationship. I feel like it’s really important to have that with your children. That way, they don’t have to go through so much s--t growing up. It’s hard being a kid. Other kids are hateful. Society is crazy. So I think it’s very important to have that type of level of communication with your children and your family. At the end of the day, they’re the ones who love you the most.
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