Ashlee Simpson says “SNL” lip-syncing scandal was 'a humbling moment' that taught her 'how to get back up'

The “Pieces of Me” singer adds that she was grateful for the fans who stuck by her following the 2004 fiasco.

Though she received plenty of backlash following her infamous Saturday Night Live performance in 2004, Ashlee Simpson admits there was one positive takeaway from the experience: She learned how to pick herself back up.

During a recent appearance on the Broad Ideas With Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen podcast, the “La La” singer, 39, reflected on the SNL gig that tested her perseverance.

“I had done my rehearsal the night before and then I woke up the next day and I couldn’t speak,”  Simpson explained, who was only 19 or 20 at the time. “I saw the voice doctor that day and I had two nodules beating against each other.”

She continued, “That day I said, ‘I will not go on, I don’t care. I can’t speak.’ Meanwhile, I’m not saying this. I’m writing it down, because I can’t talk.” But despite her efforts to back out, Simpson said her label encouraged her to perform to pre-recorded vocals “My band’s never practiced this, this is not going to go well," she recalled thinking at the time. "I can’t do this."

But of course, Simpson did take the stage that night. The lip-sync incident occurred after Simpson had already performed her hit single, “Pieces of Me,” and returned for her second song of the night, “Autobiography.” But when the wrong vocals played, repeating the song she sang earlier in the show, she panicked, briefly danced to cover up the mistake, and walked off the stage.

In retrospect, Simpson said the whole ordeal taught her about "the power of my no" and “the power of me saying absolutely not... that's what I would go back and say."

She added: “It was a humbling moment for me. I had the No. 1 song and 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, grown-ass men, awful awful things. It was so hard to learn how to tune that out, to find my strength, to get up and go again.”

Ultimately, Simpson didn't need to have surgery on her nodules thanks to a vocal coach who "saved my life.” She also pointed out that while the 2004 performance remains pervasive online, her return to the sketch show the following year is impossible to find.

“Do you know what’s funny? I went back to SNL with my second album, and I can’t find it anyway,” she said. “I’ve searched and searched for that performance and I can’t find it.”

As for what it felt like to return to Studio 8H in 2005, Simpson said, “That was f---ing scary to do,” but “having the show at that time was nice because all the people that were my fans stuck with me.”

You can listen to Simpson's full podcast interview above.

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