John Mayer: 'I've Never Done Anything Because I Thought It Would Look Cool'

John Mayer on the cover of Details Magazine (December 2009) Details MagazineAccess Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- He's dated a bevy of Hollywood beauties, pulled pranks on the paparazzi and has said some outlandish things on Twitter - but John Mayer insists none of it is ever done just to enhance his image.

"I've never done anything because I thought it would look cool," the singer said in the new issue of Details magazine. "It's always been a pursuit based on curiosity - never a war-room strategy for my career."

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In fact, when it comes to his fascination with Twitter - and the Twitter world's mutual admiration of him (Mayer currently has over 2.6 million followers) - he doesn't want people to think it takes away from his time spent on his music, but rather a new opportunity to connect with his fans.

"If I see something like Twitter, my brain looks at it from all angles," he told Details. "How am I gonna make this work? I'll use whatever means I can to stay in touch."

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Of course, like most pop culture stars, Mayer has encountered his fair share of negative feedback. But the "Who Says" singer thinks most people with bad things to say about him are more bark than bite.

"What if I had a booth on the street and I said, 'Attention, everybody who hates me: If you have a problem with me, I'm ready to hear your gripes!... I will not be speaking to fans. I will only be speaking to people who do not like me. Come out and let me have it. I will not speak back,'" he said.

"How many people do you think would be standing there? I'm talking about the chance to tell me directly, 'I think you're a douchebag.' You know how many people would do it?" Mayer asked the Details interviewer. "Ze-ro. You know what they'd do? They'd walk up and say, 'I'm just messin' with ya.' And you know what I'd say? I'd say, 'You're a douchebag.'"

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As far as his track record for dating fellow Hollywood stars, from Jennifer Love Hewitt to Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson, Mayer is quick to dismiss the notion that it's all done to help bolster his celebrity status.

"You just never know who's going to come into your life," he explained. "To my mind, the only thing sicker than saying, 'Wow, you're a famous person and it would do a lot for my career to go out with you,' is to say, 'Wow, you're a famous person and I like you and all, but I can't do that to my career.' I don't think either of those is a good option."

But regardless of what's said - or written - about the star, Mayer hopes it's his music and not the media that will provide the foundation for his legacy.

"What do you think is stronger: a dozen press articles that say I'm this guy, or a record with 10 songs on it that you enjoy? Which has greater staying power?" he asked. "At the end of the day, all I owe the world in exchange for my dumb face being in their lives are 10 songs every couple years that are hopefully of greater magnitude than somebody's press story about me... you'll walk away from the record liking me a hell of a lot more than you would walking away from an interview."

Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: All Access: John Mayer's Details Magazine Cover Shoot & Interview (Part I)
PLAY IT NOW: All Access: John Mayer's Details Magazine Interview (Part II)

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