Jessica Simpson recently gave an interview where she claimed to have been the victim of abuse, but declined to give the details and her answers were a little strange. Here’s the relevant extract.
“There’s nothing on my album that you’re gonna hear that I don’t relate to or that I haven’t experienced. Because the only way I know how to sing is from life experience.”
For instance, one of her new tracks, “Remember That,” contains the lyrics, “It doesn’t matter how he hurts you / With his hands or with his words / You don’t deserve it / It ain’t worth it / Take your heart and run.”
She’s reluctant, however, to divulge details about what led to recording such a song.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” says Jessica. “But I have definitely experienced abuse in a way that I would tell people to take their heart and run.”
Celebitchy archives via E! News
While the song lyrics clearly imply that a man, presumably a former boyfriend, had abused Jessica, the National Enquirer is running a story suggesting that Jess was actually abused in high school. That would probably explain why she didn’t want to elaborate on her experience, as the song is a loose translation of abuse.
“Most people believe Jessica is talking about being abused by a former boyfriend…..Jessica was abused as a teenager while attending J.J Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas-long before she met Nick Lachey or any of her ex-boyfriends,” an Enquirer source reveals.
Jealous classmates reportedly bullied the busty Jess because they were jealous of the showstopping figure that would one day propel the singer’s image as an international sex symbol.
“Jessica was well-developed, and every guy in high school wanted her and practically every girl hated her,” an insider explains.
“Jessica put on a brave face, but it was a campaign of terror that just devastated her.”
“A nasty clique of girls constantly spread rumors about Jessica, and one that spread like wildfire was that she was gay.”
Jessica didn’t write the song, but the songs are written with her experiences in mind, so perhaps high school bullying wasn’t quite right for her new grown up country girl image.
Just about everyone gets picked on at high school, but I can definitely see Jessica as a target. She was singing in a semi-professional capacity and obviously has a figure to envy, as well as playing a bit dumb. I can imagine that gay rumors were spread as she was probably very popular with boys. Jessica’s breasts have always seemed to have a career of their own.
I think I just reverted to the flat-chested, chubby-legged teenager who envies the cheerleader. Excuse me while I doodle in my notebook and practice kissing with my Ryan Phillipe poster.
Jessica Simpson and Ken Paves are shown out at Mr. Chow on 8/11/08. Credit: VAH/Fame Pictures
Helen, I’m sure you’re being light-hearted here, but I think you’re being very misguided. Bullying is a very serious issue in schools and workplaces which can and does prompt suicides. As it stands the majority of people tend to side with the bullies are are complicit in ignoring it.
There’s a world of difference between being on the receiving end of bitchy comments and abuse, and just like in a domestic violence situation – it doesn’t have to be physical to have a devasating effect.
I agree with Mairead. I think you may be too critical. Bullying is horrible, for anyone.
Oh, you gotta be kidding me.
Never mind that people who went to school with her have said she was worse than Regina from ‘Mean Girls’, never mind that most people get teased in highschool, but she’s letting people think that maybe Nick or Jensen Ackles or John Mayer or Johnny Knoxville used to beat her. She’s seriously stretching the definition of abuse, and probably giggling to herself that websites like this are speculating about her exes being abusive jerks. What a petty, horrific cow. I’d like to see her stand up to some woman who just got her face smashed in by her husband and say ‘I feel your pain! I was teased in highschool cause I’m so pretty!’ Ugh.
I read this and also the Alanis Morissette post and the difference in approach to a bad experience is in direct proportion to their respective talents. Alanis had a shitty deal with an ex, dealt with it in a great song and moved on. Jessica didn’t even write the song herself, the lyrics are not even specific to the so-called abuse she experienced but we’re supposed to believe it’s all heartfelt and personal to her. Bullshit. So much for ‘country’. 🙄
Yes, bullying is awful and most of us have experienced it at some point. Far as I can see, she has no discernible talent apart from whiny, needy attention seeking.
This is an insult to every woman who really has suffered abuse.
Did you say playing it a bit dumb? Honey, she aint playing ;).
I really enjoy people who write awful, nasty comments about people up here and then bemoan bullying. WHAAAAA????
Lauri, I agree 100%.
Alexis, your comment made me lmao! Although to be fair, I haven’t seen Snowblood or Kaiser here yet, so please keep that in mind – they’re blatant hypocrites. The posters on this article, prior to my post, are pretty cool for the most part.
Bullying IS abuse. Let’s not get into it, people.
This chick gets the most God awful press of any celebrity out there. It must be why she always makes me laugh. Rachel Proctor has the song on YouTube set to Greys Anatomy clips. It’s worth the listen to form your own opinion.
Alexis – by having a sly dig at me, you’re not really backing up your case for having the moral high ground.
While I will rip to shreds an idiotic, illogical or flat-out slanderous comment, I don’t often have a personal go at the person who made the remark, save for a few exceptions. I do try to be as fair as I can – but I am human and sometimes posts rub me up the wrong way. Anytime that I think I’ve gone too far I have apologised. If I’m wrong, I invite you to look back at over 6 months worth of comments to prove me wrong, then fair enough.
Bullying is a serious issue which can have a devastating effect and there is no way I’m going to take back that stance just because somebody else doesn’t like Jessica Simpson. My point was that I felt Helen was being too flippant about the issue of bullying, not whether some of the people who she went to school with Jessica Simpson liked her or not.
Sticking my oar in here, Mairead, I think you and I started posting at around the same time so I know your posts from the beginning and, to my mind, they have never been anything other than fair, honest, non-combative, funny and informative and have ALWAYS ALWAYS allowed room for other people’s points of view. And, even under extreme provocation, you’ve always erred on the side of good humour and lightening the mood rather than inflaming it.
And anyone who actually takes the time to read your posts would know that. Don’t change a thing.
I agree with Geronomo, Mairead – every post I’ve read from you has been slanted fairly. I’ve mentioned the same thing to Syko in the past… don’t let the smart a$$ comments get to you.
Thanks for being you…
Bullying is a serious thing – and I think in some cases it does constitute abuse.
I’ve read some other stuff about Jessica’s childhood, about her church not wanting to put her out there as a gospel singer because she was too “sexy” – very sketchy.
*not commenting on the other bullshit on this thread*
bullying is serious, abuse is, jessica simpson is a moron and make last ditch efforts to save her little career by getting as much press as possbile.
Read nineteen minutes by jodi picoult.
Good god, how did this thread devolve into such BS?
Anyway, bullying is definately abuse. While it is, at times, hard to feel sorry for Jessica, anyone who has been bullied knows how awful it can be.
@Mairead
I didn’t read your post before I commented. I really wasn’t taking a dig at you. Seems like perhaps you have a bit of a guilty consciense to go along with your extensive vocabulary.
geronimo: Part of the appeal of this site is the wonderful, diverse array of people who comment here. I seldom comment because Kaiser, Scott F or daisy424 and many others beat me to it and express it better than I ever could. Your comment supporting Mairhead clearly proves my point. The writers here have such an amazing talent for recapping and most times cutting to the heart of the story. Between the writers and you folks, this site has become my only stopping ground for entertainment. The give and take here on the Edwards story alone was incredible.
That being said, I’d really like your opinion on the actual song as opposed to the Popcrunch story above. The lyrics do seem to be specific and I’m curious as to how you can dismiss it as not heartfelt. I’m not claiming Simpson as a standard bearer, but she seems to have stepped outside the box to, along with the writers, musically tell a story which too often is shrouded in shame and subjected to doubt. I’m not sure many celebrities would take this one on.
Thanks geronimo and RAN. 😉 Sometimes it’s just a case of getting used to the way someone writes – I know I had a swipe at two of Nan’s posts when she started commenting here, but I’ve since realised that she has a very unique way of putting things.
Alexis -sorry for jumping to conclusions. I admit you have me pegged to a certain extent. In the past I have torn strips off people and gotten personal when provoked. But I am working hard on it and do my damnedest not to make the same mistake twice.
As for guilt – I’m Irish and Catholic – we invented the bloody thing 😆
Mairead, LOL.
The Irish Catholics can’t take all of the credit for guilt.
My Mother was Italian, fabulous at the guilt thing. It was a ‘gift’ for her, like ESP for others. I was always “packing my bags” for the guilt trips she sent me on!! 😛
Something about Simpson’s story doesn’t sit right with me . . .
I feel bad for anyone who was picked on in high school. Where I live now, I am one of the few implants and all the girls still hang out in their high school cliques. I get to deal with the cattiness and back stabbing on a regular basis. And I am too old for it now.
I do agree with Mairead (btw, how do you say your name?? I keep reading it as may-reed. Is that right?), but I do have to say that I think that bullying today is very different from the bullying of the past. It used to be that you just hated going to school, but now people go after others on my space, etc, and I do see how that can lead to suicide. I certainly didn’t like my stint in middle and high school, but I tend to think it was common place and just something to grow a thicker skin from. I kinda put what I imagine is Jessica’s high school bullying in that category. I feel awful for kids today though.
@hello
Muh-raid
I have a few Irish Catholic friends.
umm okay then. JUST BECAUSE CELEBITCHY THINKS THAT THAT IS WHAT JESSICA IS TALKING ABOUT DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THEY ARE RIGHT. Izzy, you are so quick to believe and judge. Grow up and realise that everything on this site is SPECULATION.
and to all the people who say jessica has no talent – i am certainly no fan of her – but she obviously has more talent than all of us, people don’t get signed to record deals for nothing.
The bitch can sing, that is why she has records. Just cos you don’t like her voice doesn’t mean she can’t sing. IT means you don’t like her.
And to all the people who think bullying is not abuse – it IS.
Face it people – all you know about Jessica Simpson (or any celeb for that matter) is what you read, which isn’t always true. You don’t know these people, you don’t have the right to pass judgements.
The hotter the fire, the stronger the steel. Bullying can either make you or break you.
AE, thanks for your comments earlier.
Re the song/lyrics, afraid my opinion of her is affected by everything else I’ve read about her. Don’t rate her as a singer, she’s completely packaged, jumps from one genre to another in a desperate bid to stay relevant. This just smacks of band-wagon jumping and cynical marketing.
Again, not a dismissal of abuse/bullying. If she wants to talk about what she went through, fine, but at least talk about the actual abuse/bullying she experienced instead of cloaking it in someone else’s ‘bad boyfriend’ lyrics. The thing is, I can only go on what she puts out there about herself, and it’s what she puts out there that really puts me off her. But JMO.
Vdantev – bullying much more often breaks you than makes you.
I call b.s. on this. There have been many biographies on her, and never once have I heard this metnioned about high school. matter of fact, I heard it the other way around. She was the one being obnoxious and thinking she’s better than anyone else. Now, all the sudden this source suddenly appears out of nowhere to wax poetic about her so-called abuse? This story makes her sound good, (with all the guys wanting her – which I don’t believe for a second) which makes it sound to me like this source’s name is Joe Simpson. This pathetic family will stoop to nothing to promote themselves. I really wish someone would walk right up to her and smack her so she can really see what abuse feels like.
I have not read all the comments, but I will say Jessica said she used to get her car keyed and all sorts of other horrible things because she was open about waiting till marriage and all the other things already discussed.
p.s. DO NOT take bullying lightly whther it be high school or work place, it’s still a serious issue.
Let me start off by saying that I agree with everyone here that bullying is a major problem in schools, and my heart goes out to anyone who is dealing with it…
BUT, as someone who grew up in DFW and had friends that went to J.J. Pierce with Jessica, I have a hard time believing this story. Yeah, there were ppl there who didn’t like her, but that’s true for anyone in high school – nobody is friends with everyone. I think her experience was pretty much like the majority of Americans, there were things that happened that REALLY sucked, but overall it wasn’t that bad looking back. If her song is really about being bullied, it makes it seem like she was one of those kids who was outright tormented daily. And that just isn’t true. She had a shitty high school life like 90% of us, but that is NOT the same thing as being bullied.
Izzy, that’s exactly my problem with this publicity stunt…I mean story…I have a problem with her not telling everyone who *didn’t* abuse her. When you claim that a guy abused you in some way and people know every guy that you dated, I think you are obligated to say, “oh, but I’m not talking about so-and-so.” …especially when the guys that you dated are famous. It can ruin them! What selfish comments. But what else can you expect from Jessica Simpson?