You may wonder why Jessica Simpson and her sister Ashlee have not turned out like Britney Spears. After all, Jessica tried out to be among Britney and other Orlando-based Mouseketeers Ryan Gosling (who turned out to be a real actor), Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake.
The reason is simple, says their dad and manager, Joe Simpson.
“We have a real family,” he told me Monday. “You can⿿t just put these kids out in the world and they⿿re on their own. I can remember a time when Jessica was singing at Madison Square Garden and her outfit ripped before she went on. We were there for her.”
I had an iced-tea break with Joe on Monday at Café Un Deux Trois while the busy Texan was promoting the new ABC series he⿿s producing, “Women⿿s Murder Club,” starring Angie Harmon. It⿿s one of several projects Joe is occupied with now that Jessica and Ashlee⿿s careers are up and running nicely.
Simpson and wife, Tina, married almost 30 years ago when they were 20 and 18; today, they live in Encino, Calif.
Joe Simpson got some raw deals in the press when he started managing Jessica⿿s career. But you can⿿t argue with success. He put both of his girls on the map and survived some ugly times.
One episode he weathered, of course, was Ashlee⿿s “Saturday Night Live” debacle.
“She⿿d lost her voice, and Jordan Schur [then the head of her record label] insisted she lip-synch,” he said. “She⿿d never done it before. She didn⿿t want to do it. Anyway, she⿿ll never do it again. We just did a huge tour, and there was no lip-synching.”
Simpson is very candid about that bad night. They⿿ve learned their lesson.
Some may think he⿿s a controlling father, but he says, “I don⿿t tell my girls who to date or marry or what to do.”
He had no control over Ashlee⿿s rhinoplasty, for example. When I mentioned that her old look was more distinctive, he just shrugged.
“Girls have their own ideas,” he said. “Anyway, there was a real problem with her breathing and that was cured.”
Ashlee is preparing the release of her third album on Geffen, with much of the producing by Timbaland and the Neptunes. Then she will hit the road again.
“She has a huge following,” Joe said.
Jessica, meanwhile, has just finished her role in “Major Movie Star,” a “Private Benjamin” for the 21st century.
“We had a real director, Steve Miner, who would tell her if something wasn⿿t right.” Joe said.
Jessica did a lot of work to get up to speed as an actress. “When the movie wrapped, Steve told her, ‘You⿿re going to be a movie star.’”
She⿿s also going to be a country star. Simpson says Jessica⿿s next CD likely will be recorded in Nashville.
“Willie Nelson really likes her,” he said. “We⿿re going to go down there and really get into it.”
Given that Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney are on top of the pop charts this week, this doesn⿿t sound so bad.
Before she goes country, though, Jessica will make another movie, this time in a role as a biker chick “with tattoos.”
And that⿿s not all for Joe Simpson, whose father died when he was 27 and left him only a watch and a penknife back in Texas.
The 49-year-old former youth pastor is quite an American success story, which is why maybe so many media types are skeptical of him. But I say give him credit. He survived having Nick Lachey for a son-in-law, you know.
“I have nothing against Nick,” he told me. “But they got married very young. I told Jessica, ‘You⿿re going to hit an age when it⿿s all going to be clear to you ⿿ life that is ⿿ and you⿿ll know what you want to do.’”
Joe told me, “I do blame 50 percent of their break-up on the media.”
And just in case you wondered about the couple⿿s “Newlyweds” show on MTV, it was not scripted. Jessica really did not know that Chicken of the Sea was canned tuna.
“She had a very Lucy-like quality,” Joe reflected, “and we went with it.”
The TV show “Women⿿s Murder Club” comes from Simpson⿿s recent friendship with best-selling novelist James Patterson. Now they have several more projects cooking for TV and the movies.
Simpson also manages singer Ryan Cabrera and a few new acts, all of whom he⿿ll release on his own label, Papa Joe Records.
(source)
