Ashlee Simpson found the backlash over her Saturday Night Live controversy to be “dehumanising”.
Ashlee Simpson faced fierce criticism after the controversy
The 40-year-old singer was blasted for lip-syncing on the long-running TV comedy show back in 2004, and Ashlee now admits that the backlash was “intense”.
She told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: “I had a super-high and then I had a super-low at Saturday Night Live.
“For me, it was such a lesson: You hate me so much because I lost my voice? It was such a dehumanising feeling that I had to remember who I was and why I was doing this.”
Ashlee struggled to cope with the criticism and scrutiny at the time.
The singer – who actually walked off stage when her single Pieces of Me incorrectly began to play – thinks the backlash ultimately made her stronger.
She shared: “I’m happy it was because it got deeper. It got darker too — thicker skin yet very vulnerable.”
Despite this, Ashlee refused to let the controversy derail her music career.
She said: “When you’re faced with something so traumatic, where the world is looking at a young girl this way, you either hide or you fight and keep going. And I just kept going.”
Ashlee recently revealed that she experienced an “insane” level of “bullying” after her infamous performance on Saturday Night Live.
The singer – who decided to lip-sync due to a flare-up of acid reflux – doubts whether a musician would face the same level of criticism in 2025.
Speaking on Pod Meets World, she said: “I think it’s a different era … I think during that time, I mean, the bullying was insane.”
Ashlee has felt the need to repeatedly explain herself to people.
She said: “But then my whole life, I had to tell people, ‘Oh, but I perform every night.’ My fans know. I had to know that in my heart.
“Yes, I’ve had ups and downs just like every other human.”
Ashlee thinks similar controversies are more easily forgotten and forgiven in the modern day.
The singer – who is the younger sister of pop star Jessica Simpson – explained: “I think it’s different now. For us, we had the magazines and this. Now everything’s kinda more fleeting.”