Ashlee Simpson Reflects on 2004 SNL Lip-Syncing Incident and Shares Her Feelings About a Comeback
Over two decades after her notorious performance, Ashlee Simpson has reflected on her 2004 lip-syncing incident during an appearance on Saturday Night Live. The singer recently shared her perspective in an interview, revealing that she now sees the event with humor.
Simpson, who recently won Season 14 of The Masked Singer as Galaxy Girl, acknowledged that her comments about being “publicly humiliated, called a fraud, a fake” were indeed in reference to that infamous SNL episode.
“Now it’s something I can laugh about,” Simpson told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s something I’ve been through, so it’s not something I look at like I’m going through anymore. It’s a part of my young adulthood and what kind of shaped me as the person I am now.”
The incident occurred when Simpson’s performance of her single “Pieces of Me,” from her debut album Autobiography, began seamlessly. However, due to vocal cord inflammation, she relied on a vocal track for support. When the recording unexpectedly played again during their planned follow-up performance of the album’s title track, chaos ensued.
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Regarding a potential return to Studio 8H, Simpson expressed enthusiasm, stating that she “would definitely go back.” She emphasized that she no longer feels the need to validate herself. “That chapter is behind me and I never looked at myself as that moment defined me. Right after that, I went on tour and everything,” she explained.
Reflecting on her enduring career, Simpson remarked, “Doing a show like this 20-something years later, it’s so fun. I mean, for me, it’s something that I kept doing. I kept touring. I, a girl that loves theater and live music and everything.” She reiterated that one moment would not define her identity as an artist and performer.
Despite the harsh public criticism following her SNL performance, Simpson was invited back the next season to promote her sophomore album I Am Me with the song “Catch Me When I Fall,” which addressed the fallout from the lip-syncing controversy.
