Trends are fickle in Las Vegas. Take lounges, which, once the hub of the hip, plummeted to the dregs of popular culture, then resurged with a vengeance, even spawning upscale spin-offs. Now the word lounge encompasses both the old cliché -- an open casino hangout where a trio in matching sequined vests warbles Top 40 covers -- and the newer meaning of a trendy spot where everyone lines up to pay $8 a drink and rubberneck for a glimpse of a celebrity.

Chris Crocker (born December 1987) is an openly gay Tennessee-based YouTube and MySpacepersonality and self-described edutainer who produces and acts in transgressive videos. According to Crocker, safety concerns over death threats he has received have forced him to keep his identity and exact location private. Crocker is his stage name. His work consists mainly of short-form self-directed "monologues about life" shot in his grandparents' home. As of October 2007, Crocker's videos have received a combined 40.2 million plays on MySpace. and his vlog channel on YouTube is the 14th most viewed of all time in all categories, with over 48.7 million views

 Although he has produced dozens of videos, Crocker gained international notoriety from his viral video tearfully defending Britney Spears's "lackluster MTV comeback" with over four million views in two days. The video received international media attention, as well as generating death threats for the androgynous teenager.

Crocker's detractors and critics have accused him of melodramatics, histrionics, and using Spears' personal shortcomings to bolster his own fame. Others have accused Crocker of acting in the "Leave Britney Alone" video, although he insisted that it was a genuine "blog from the heart" on a September 20, 2007 appearance on the Maury Povich show. Psychologist Kevin Leman noted in an interview that pointed to Crocker, that voyeuristic fascination with celebrity "says that we live in a morally corrupt society" and that younger people seeking fame, like Crocker, are hedonistic attention-seeking mongers.

On September 18, 2007, Variety revealed that Crocker has signed a development deal with 44 Blue Productions to star in a documentary-style reality television show.