Opera House Turns Hip-Hop Stage for MTV Awards : Pop Music: The staid New York venue didn’t keep the show from being business as usual--and TV viewers made it cable’s highest-rated entertainment show.

There were some, no doubt, who worried that staging the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards at the historic Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center would encourage the traditionally provocative ceremony to become a bit staid.

But those fears were quickly allayed Thursday by some explosive moments on stage, including a boisterous hard-rock/hip-hop free-for-all involving Kid Rock, Run-DMC and members of Aerosmith, as well as the first live performance in three years by ‘90s rock auteur Trent Reznor and his group Nine Inch Nails.

It paid off with viewers as well. According to Nielsen’s overnight measure, the special was the highest-rated entertainment show in cable history, with roughly 12.1 million people tuning in.

In addition to the onstage circus, things were equally colorful backstage in the press tent, where midway through the three-hour show rocker Tommy Lee ran in front of his ex-wife (and current girlfriend), actress Pamela Anderson Lee, and opened his coat, which apparently hid nothing but his birthday suit.

Indeed, some of the antics behind the scenes were very much in keeping with the irreverent spirit of host Chris Rock’s on-camera banter. The comedian poked fun during the telecast at the gamut of artists represented at this year’s MTV bash, from teen sensations such as Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys to hip-hop mogul Puff Daddy, from rap-rockers Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock to omnipresent Latin stallion Ricky Martin.

Several stars did wax thoughtful and high-minded to reporters backstage, addressing issues such as the unrest and alleged sexual assaults at Woodstock ‘99--a subject that Beastie Boy Adam Horowitz addressed in his acceptance speech for best hip-hop video.

Backstage, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich noted, “Any time you put 200,000 people together in any place, something can go wrong,” while Sugar Ray’s singer Mark McGrath blamed concert organizers for poor conditions that “deprived people of certain human necessities.”

But others preferred to contemplate less sober matters, such as the outfit worn by rapper Lil’ Kim--a glittering, skintight suit that left one breast covered only by strategically applied pasties.

Though Jennifer Lopez was more conservatively dressed, her famous curves also inspired fascination. The screen siren-turned-singer was rather predictably the, well, butt of some of Rock’s jokes.

“[Rock] went at her . . . a lot tonight,” observed Will Smith in the press tent. “But you know what? Jennifer knows, and even Chris knows, that’s a beautiful thing Jennifer got goin’ on.”

Few of the male stars got as much attention for physical attributes, though a few, such as McGrath, had to field questions backstage about their sex lives. Sugar Ray’s singer joked about rumors that linked him romantically to Madonna.

“The press makes me look much cooler than I am,” McGrath demurred. “[One] night I took Madonna to her car, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and it’s like, ‘Ricky [Martin]’s out--Mark’s in!’ ”

Wyclef Jean dismissed speculation that the Fugees’ future is in doubt--even as he acknowledged the solo success of bandmate Lauryn Hill, who was among the evening’s big winners, and spoke of his own work on other projects, including a new single featuring U2’s Bono and a second solo album scheduled for next year.

“There’s always fighting amongst the group,” Jean explained. “But it’s like brothers and sisters. If you don’t fight, that means you have no love for your family.”

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of TLC, another allegedly embattled outfit, had the evening’s last word on celebrity gossip.

“We don’t worry about people talking,” Watkins said. “We would start worrying if they weren’t talking. Peace out.”