Ashlee Simpson Says the Backlash to Her ‘SNL’ Lip-Sync Scandal Was ‘Insane’

Ashlee Simpson is looking back on an event the shook up the course of her career.

Fans will remember her lip-sync moment on Saturday Night Live on the Oct. 23, 2004, episode. While Simpson now has a different perspective on the infamous situation, she still can’t shake the negative reaction that she bore the brunt of.

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On the Aug. 21 episode of Pod Meets World, the 40-year-old musician recalled what went down when she went to sing “Autobiography,” her second song of the night. The wrong vocal track played and began skipping. Simpson was unclear about what to do in the situation as she awkwardly danced her way off the stage.

Almost 21 years later, the “Pieces of Me” singer thinks that the incident would have been handled differently “in this era.” She said, “I think during that time, I mean, the bullying was insane.” Instead of having empathy for her, critics hounded her about the mistake — and the effects were long term.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JULY 20: Ashlee Simpson Ross celebrates 20 years of “Autobiography” at Heart Weho on July 20, 2024 in West Hollywood, California.

“But then my whole life, I had to tell people, ‘Oh, but I perform every night.’ And I was like, what am I trying to tell people? My fans know. I had to know that in my heart,” she added.

Simpson believes that if the moment had happened in 2025, it would have been a “fleeting and fast” headline. In September 2024, the 60 Minutes: A Second Look podcast shared an unaired clip from that night in 2004 because they just happened to be on set doing a profile of executive producer Lorne Michaels and the 30th anniversary cast.

“I think accidents happen. I think that’s the nature of live television,” Michaels said after it happened. Still, the producer seemed upset about not knowing that Simpson’s intent was to lip-sync during his live broadcast. Even though he nonchalantly told the CBS crew, “Life goes on and the great part about Saturday Night Live is there’s always next week” — he had more to say in the aftermath.

“I was in the control room, going, ‘Well, I mean, there’s just — there’s just egg out there now. I mean, there’s — there was nothing to watch,’” Michaels told 60 Minutes after the episode aired. “No, I don’t think the reputation of the show was hurt. No, I think it’s like, it happened, it was live, it didn’t — it kind of blew up. And lots of times that’s happened.”

Simpson blamed an acid reflux flare-up for the reason she needed to use a backing vocal track. She’s since moved on with her life, pushing past the incident, and is doing a Las Vegas residency at The Venetian from Aug. 29 to Sept. 27.

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