Ashlee Simpson Remembers Being Called ‘Fat’ by a Boyfriend, Reflects on Getting Bullied in Early ’00s

Ashlee Simpson recalled experiencing the highest of highs and lowest of lows following the release of her debut album, Autobiography, in 2004.

“For me writing, every day I would go in with my fresh breakup. My fresh boyfriend,” Simpson, 40, remembered of recording the album during the Thursday, August 21, episode of the “Pod Meets World” podcast. “It was literally, like, the diary of my life.”

The singer noted that there were a lot of “firsts” happening in her life when she wrote the music for Autobiography, including a “first boyfriend” and “first heartbreaks.”

Looking back at that time frame, Simpson revealed, “I had a boyfriend that was like, ‘You look fat, you need to get on the treadmill!’”

She laughed before saying her instant thought was, “Get ready for what I’m about to say” in her lyrics. Ultimately, she said the album features “so many feelings” that she was experiencing firsthand.

While the record went triple platinum in the United States, her success has often been overlooked thanks to her appearance on Saturday Night Live in October 2004 when she was caught lip syncing.

“I think during that time, I mean, the bullying was insane,” Simpson said on Thursday, noting that people forgot she was a human that “did lose her voice,” explaining, “That doesn’t mean [I] didn’t write these songs.”

The singer said the snafu on stage resulted in having to constantly defend her talent. “My whole life I had to tell people [what happened],” Simpson revealed, adding that she started to ask herself, “What am I trying to tell people?”

In time, she realized that her fans knew she sang live on every other occasion. “I had to know that in my heart,” Simpson added.

In October 2004, Simpson made headlines when her hit song “Pieces of Me” began playing when it was supposed to be “Autobiography,” exposing the fact that she wasn’t singing live. In a state of shock, Simpson began doing a hoedown dance before SNL cut to a commercial.

“My band started playing the wrong song and I didn’t know what to do so I thought I’d do a hoedown. I’m sorry,” Simpson told viewers at the time, shrugging her shoulders.

Simpson later revealed that she had been diagnosed with “two nodules beating against each other” when she was due to perform live on the comedy series. Instead of cancelling, Simpson agreed to lip sync.

“I’ve never talked about or said [anything], but it’s like the other thing is, learning as a woman, when you say no or as an artist or a human or whatever, that day I said, ‘I will not go on, I don’t care. I can’t speak,’” Simpson said on a March 2024 episode of the “Broad Ideas With Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen” podcast of how she’s grown since that traumatic experience.

Simpson noted on Thursday, “Yes, I’ve had ups and downs just like every other human,” referring to the faux pas that still haunts her career.

She has since moved past the drama surrounding that SNL performance. Simpson announced in June that she is performing for two nights in Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend in honor of the 20-year anniversary of her second album, I Am Me, which came out in October 2005.

While Simpson hasn’t released a new album since April 2008’s Bittersweet World, she teased that new songs could happen following her Vegas residency.

“I’ve been writing here and there,” she said on Thursday, confirming there’s “definitely” a change for new music.