Simpson Sisters Face Scandal After Scandal
When Jessica and Ashlee Simpson first entered he music scene they became fast wonders and were immediately accepted by fans. They had great voices to show off and the music they created was more than what everyone was hoping for. It seems though lately that they are having trouble trying to keep up their image – which started off as the good girls. Now both of them are dealing with scandal after scandal that is being thrown their way.
Between the both of them they are dealing with a divorce (high profile), an embarrassing lip-synch scandal, plastic surgeries both obvious and subtle, blame for a Dallas Cowboys loss, and an impresario father looming over it all. Of late, Jessica, 27, and sister Ashlee, 23, are regularly slimed in the blogosphere, which becomes more and more vicious as public interest in celebrities reaches an all-time high. Trying to nurture a career - and stay in fans’ good graces - amid gleefully ruthless tabloid scrutiny can’t be an easy job for the two girls to take on.
It seems that Jessica is having the hardest time. The singer/actress/shoe designer will likely avoid the Dallas Cowboys stadium after fans blamed her weekend trip to Mexico with quarterback Tony Romo for the Cowboys’ defeat by the New York Giants. Eva Longoria rallied to Simpson’s defense, as did ex-boyfriend John Mayer. In a post on his blog, Mayer wrote: “I have never known anyone to have more pride in their home state and their upbringing in it than Jessica Simpson has in Texas. … It’s one of her most defining traits as a person. So please don’t try and take that away from her.”
For Simpson, who suffered a backlash of sorts after her marriage to Nick Lachey crumbled in 2005, bad press is apparently a side effect of living under the tabloid microscope. “Jessica’s actually quite realistic about it,” publicist Elizabeth Wolfe told The Associated Press. “It’s part of the price of being in the public eye. She doesn’t like it. And if I were her mother, I would fight tooth and nail to protect her. But you can’t. She’s a grown-up woman, and she’s on her own and she’s doing the best she can.”
Meanwhile, Simpson’s little sister recently unleashed the video for her new single, “Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya),” to mixed reviews online. Ashlee’s third solo album, “Bittersweet World,” is expected to be released in the spring. Ashlee, a media magnet for her romance with Fall Out Boy rocker Pete Wentz, positioned herself as the anti-Jessica in 2004 when she documented the making of her debut album, “Autobiography,” on an MTV series. That album sold 2.9 million copies and spawned several radio-friendly hits despite the revelation that she lip-synched during a performance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”
Ian Drew, editor-at-large for Us Weekly magazine, said the siblings, who are managed by their domineering father, Joe Simpson, and apparently haven’t been shy about having cosmetic procedures, could certainly prove themselves again - all they need is a surefire single or some other success that would eclipse the drama surrounding their personal lives.
“My honest opinion is neither of them really have a great deal of talent,” Drew remarked. “They’re manufactured pop artists. So it comes down to: Could they buy the right song or not?” Still, unlike an artist like Madonna, who has a weak voice yet a strong point of view, “these girls don’t really have anything to say,” Drew said. “They’re not very intelligent. They’re not very insightful. … And you can only go so far that way in the entertainment world.”