Just when we thought we were in the clear, having managed to make it through this week almost entirely Jessica Simpson-free, she had to go have a mini breakdown during her opening set for Rascal Flatts in Grand Rapids, Mich.

According to the Grand Rapids Press, she kicked off the whole mess by lamenting how much she missed Tony Romo right after the opening song. "I'm so excited, I get to see my boyfriend tomorrow," she informed the crowd. Tony came up again later when she dedicated "You're My Sunday" to him, telling everyone, "I love him so, so much!"

Then it got bad...

Apparently, Jess lost her place in several songs including "Pray Out Loud," which the band had to start over after several measures. And then "Come On Over," where she mouthed "sorry" to the monitors.

She explained tearfully, "My voice is weak tonight and I feel so vulnerable onstage." And just before she closed the 38-minute set, she mentioned how sometimes, like this particular disastrous night, she wished she could just walk off the stage. She then thanked her band for not going all Christian Bale on her and appeared to wipe tears away as she exited the stage.

One of the local paper's writers blames the episode on Tony not showing up, but that seems like a pretty weak explanation.

The fans who attended the show and cheered her on with words of support have a slightly more astute take on the whole thing. "I felt bad for her tonight," one told the paper. "Magazines are ripping her, being so harsh, and she's gorgeous." Now that we can understand.

I'm certainly no fan of hers, but the glee with which the media has pointed out her (apparent) weight gain is just plain nasty. Sometimes I wonder about people.

That said, Howard Stern did hit the nail right on the head when he said he was amazed that she'd let herself go, as that was her one talent: being hot.

Speaking of Jessica Simpson and Howard, she figured into one of all-time favourite show moments.

They were discussing her one morning in '03 (I guess her MTV reality show was in its first blush of success) and Howard seemed to be a little taken with her, physically:




[Edited 2/6/09 20:50pm]

Ace said:

Howard is so fucking sick

CalhounSq said:

Actually, he's progressively less so, these days. He's been in therapy for the last decade and has mellowed and become more politically-correct. He's still incredibly politically-incorrect compared to most, but not nearly as PI as he used to be. And the show's better than ever.

Ace said:

Damn, don't make me miss it more - my ass STILL doesn't have satellite!

Ace said:

That's funny


Smooches;)

CalhounSq said:

Get thee to a Best Buy immediately!

MsMisha319 said:

When I heard it, this was me >

Ace said:

Damn, I've fallen off the wagon with Howard TV. I have to start watching it regularly again.

CalhounSq said:

I freakin' LOVE Sirius (actually, I guess it's now "Sirius XM")! Tons of awesome commercial-free music, with artist/song alerts (with most units, I think), talk, comedy...you freakin' name it! You can also listen on yer 'puter (although I've heard talk they're adding a small surcharge for that?).

Wish I'd gotten it sooner!

So many wicked-cool people on the org.

Ace said:

Why would anyone consider what Stern said funny?

purplesweat said:

You got me there.

purplesweat said:

B/c he's insane. & that, sometimes, is funny. Sick, but funny

purplesweat said:

I don't get his humor at ALL.

SCNDLS said:

that's understandable but it's really a matter of context...this comment and many others that he has made thru the years are more of a reflection of his admitted psychological issues than they are of his actual feelings towards the subject of his banter...that being said, it obviously isn't for everyone...

but on topic, between Jessicas weight and Phelps' bong hits, the media has served up some total bullshit as of late...I understand that some folks out there clamor for this type of news but the appeal eludes me...I rememeber a few days before 9/11, the big news was Britney Spears on the MTV awards...after the attacks, I think most folks realized how petty we had become in our interests...it's a shame that mindset didn't stick around longer...

roodboi said:

http://www.theonion.com/c...node/28129

Ace said:

God, I love The Onion.

Ace said:

You're complaining about the media being nasty, but you love Howard? Howard is the KING of nasty! Remember the time he had Richard Simmons' clients on his show and dangled whole chickens and bags of potato chips in front of them? Or the Handicapped Olympics? Or Guess Who's the Jew hosted by Fred as Kurt Waldheim? I got 20 years of that wild stuff on tape.

purplesweat said:

cause it often its

Ace said:

I loved her when I was a teenager (wow...that really wasn't all that long ago. I'm only 23.) and thought she was beautiful then. I still think so now. But I loved her because she wasn't trying to be like the other singers of her time. (Loved them too. however.) But the way the gossip mags and sites have been eating at her is obviously taking a toll on her spirit. When you've got headlines about how fat she is and how everyone hates it, and THEN to add salt to the open wounds, the rumors about her boyfriend cheating, you really can't expect her to be in the best of moods. She probably thought performing would make things better.

Some people just don't know when to stop being nasty. I wish I could knock some sense into all of them. I still really like her.

she's on a downward spiral

I feel kinda bad for her

thekidsgirl said:

Don't - she's making tons of $ from her shitty clothes/shoes/bags & she can simply get on the treadmill & put all the gossipy bitches to shame. Don't waste your feelings on that heffa

CalhounSq said:

you're right! where was my head at?!
some people have real problems

thekidsgirl said:

...?

purplesweat said:

I think he can be funny sometimes

thekidsgirl said:

Maybe he can, but there's nothing funny in that quote.