Almost 20 years after a now-infamous lip-sync mishap on Saturday Night Live, singer Ashlee Simpson is opening up about the experience and the valuable lessons she learned.
In a recent episode of the Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allen podcast, Simpson, now 39, revisited the 2004 incident that became a viral sensation. At the time, she was experiencing vocal issues due to nodules on her cords and informed the SNL team she couldn’t perform live. However, she was reportedly pressured to sing along to pre-recorded tracks.
“I’ve never talked about or said, but it’s like the other thing is, learning as a woman… that day I said ‘I will not go on, I don’t care. I can’t speak,'” Simpson shared. “My band has never practiced this, this is not going to go well. I can’t do this.”
Despite expressing her concerns, Simpson went ahead with the performance. While the first song went smoothly, technical difficulties during the second song resulted in the wrong vocal track playing – the one for her previous hit “Pieces of Me” instead of the intended song. This led to the now-iconic moment of Simpson dancing awkwardly and eventually walking off stage.
Looking back, Simpson calls it a “humbling” experience, especially considering her success at the time with a No. 1 album and a top-five single. “It was like everything was about to go somewhere and then it was just like, whoa, the humility of not even understanding what grown-ass people would say about you… awful, awful things,” she recalled.
However, the incident also served as a turning point. “It was the power of my no,” Simpson declared, emphasizing the importance of setting boundaries and speaking up for oneself. “That’s what I would go back and say.”
The viral clip had a lasting impact on Simpson’s career, though she continued to release music and perform on stage. Today, she’s reflecting on her past and looking forward to the future, even contemplating re-releasing her debut album with potential new tracks and a celebratory performance.
“I think having to find at a young age that strength to be like, ‘I am good at this and I will keep going, and I will keep fighting,'” she concluded, showcasing the resilience and growth she gained from the experience.
Even today, the SNL performance stays with Simpson, serving as a powerful reminder of self-advocacy. Looking ahead, she plans to celebrate the anniversary of her debut album with a potential re-release and additional tracks, marking a full-circle moment in her musical journey.
For a deeper dive into Simpson’s candid conversation, the full podcast episode is available below.
This post originally appeared on Unplugged from All Punked Up.
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