Velma Von Tussle

"Let me show you how your Mommy, dear, took out the competition."

- Velma while singing "Miss Baltimore Crabs".

Velma Von Tussle is the main antagonist in the musical and its film adaption Hairspray. She is the snobbish and racist producer of the Corny Collins Show that wants to integrate a cast of white-only people. She was portrayed in the 1988 film by Debbie Harry, and in the 2007 film by Michelle Pfeiffer.

As producer
Her role is similar if one compares the musical with the films. Velma is the producer of Baltimore's most watched show, the Corny Collins Show, which is also watched by slightly-overweight protagonist Tracy Turnblad, and her friend Penny Pingleton. However, behind the scenes, the black cast of the show is being severely criticized by Velma and her daughter Amber, and Velma even considers removing them all at their first attempt.

Tracy and Penny decide to audit for a place in the show, but are higly criticized and snobbed by Velma and her dancers. However, taking advice from black student Seaweed, son of the show's "Negro Day" host Motormouth Maybelle, Tracy dances for Collins himself and is accepted in the cast. However, this allows Velma a lot of chances to discriminate her due to Tracy's weight, while also trying to make her mother, Edna Turnblad, take Tracy out of the show by insulting her, and even going far enough to try and seduce Edna's husband, Wilbur, in front of her so they will divorce, but all of these attempts fail.

Velma and Amber, then, both decide to make Tracy a fugitive and tricks her into pushing a police officer and broadcasts the news throughout Baltimore. Tracy finally gets fed up with her and decides to sneak into the protected WYZT building with the help of her friends and family. In the end, Seaweed's sister, Inez is elected Miss Hairspray, but from this point fowards, the ending varies from the musical and the movies.

Broadway musical ending
In the musical, Tracy is forgiven by the governor and becomes the lead dancer in the show, which becomes officially integrated. Velma is then warned that Tracy's popularity is allowing her to become the vice-president of Ultra Glow Hairspray in the product division for people of color. She and her daughter happily accept as they join Tracy and her firends in the final musical number ("You Can't Stop the Beat").

Movie ending
In the 1988 movie, Velma is arrested after her plan of hiding a bomb in her bouffant hairdo fails and it detonates prematurely, causing it to land on her daughter's head. In the 2007 film, while everyone is dancing on the stage, Velma discusses with Amber about switching the votes for her to win the competition, but her confession is recorded by Edna and Wilbur and broadcasted around Baltimore, causing her to be fired on the spot. According to a deleted scene, as a police officer is about to arrest Seaweed, the dancers tell him to lock up the Von Tussles. Velma is then arrested after the officer is told (twice) he could lock the Von Tussles up.

Personality
Velma's main adjectives include snobbish and manipulative. She would also definitely be racist, if not for the fact that she denies it in the musical song Velma's Revenge', saying "you can say I'm a bigot, but it just isn't true/Look, I love Sammy Davis, and he's black and a jew!" In this case, she is either lying or she simply fears controversy. She does everything in her power to make sure her daughter wins the Miss Hairspray competition. She also wants to dismiss the afro-american cast of the Corny Collins show and replace it with a full white cast. Velma tries hard to look perfect in every way, due to her previous position as Miss Baltimore Crabs, but even though she won the position, she points out in her musical number ("(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs") that she slept with the judges to make sure she would win the votes.