Joss Stone is like the barefoot hippie chick you remember from school. Popular kids hate, smart ones roll their eyes, but everybody secretly lusts after her. After two well-received but mostly forgettable albums, the spring release of Introducing Joss Stone (Virgin) arrived with loads of blog-worthy chatter, her umpteenth new look (we approve), the nude pictures with Raphael Saadiq (ours are better), and mini-beefs with Christina Milian and producer Dallas Austin (fall back, homie). To clear the air, we visited the lovely Ms. Stone in Paris. And like a true hippie, she couldn’t care less about the loose talk.

So you said some not-so-nice things about Christina Milian. What happened?
I’m a very honest girl. Lies fucking piss me off. Sometimes I say things in the heat of the moment. So I said something bad about Christina Milian. I said it, and I meant it. Then I realized down the line that it wasn’t true. The person who told me is a complete wanker.

Is that “wanker” your mutual ex-boyfriend, Beau Dozier?
I’m gonna let you make the decision. I did feel bad, so I called Christina to say sorry, and she was so sweet about forgiving me. She understood. Sometimes, I get a little too honest about how I feel. If I’m wrong, I’m the first to say I’m wrong. I deserve a punch for it, to be honest.

And what about Dallas Austin’s mean comments about you on that Internet clip?
I don’t know him. I seriously don’t even know what he looks like. Maybe I’ll go see him when I go to Atlanta. We’ll have
a cup of tea. Bless him. Seriously. People like that need prayer. Bless his poor little soul.

The picture of you and Raphael Saadiq naked caused quite a stir.
That’s what I wanted to do. Even if they hated it, I wanted them to talk about it. Look at it as a piece of art, not as a sexual picture. I had to convince Raphael—he’s a little more conservative than I am. When me and Raphael make music, we’re not two separate people. I was trying to show that in the painting. Now, he loves it.

If you had to give up sex for one whole year, how much money would you demand in return?
It wouldn’t be that  difficult for me. I haven’t had a boyfriend for, like, two years. I’m hating on men at the moment. Every time, they hurt me bad. I get too emotionally into it. Hmmm…they’d have to donate a million dollars to a charity.

By Donnie Kwak
Photographs by Brian Bowen Smith