Ashlee Simpson is looking back at her infamous Saturday Night Live performance.
Back in 2004, the 40-year-old singer was caught lip-syncing on the NBC sketch comedy series when her song “Pieces of Me” – which she had already sang earlier in the night – mistakenly started playing before she even started singing her second song, which was supposed to be “Autobiography.”
While appearing on Pod Meets World on Thursday (August 21), Ashlee reflected on the intense backlash she received over the controversial moment.
Keep reading to find out more…“I think it’s a different era,” Ashlee shared. “I think during that time, I mean, the bullying was insane.”
She went on to say that over 20 years later, the moment still affects her and she constantly feels as if she needs to explain herself.
“But then my whole life, I had to tell people, ‘Oh, but I perform every night,’” Ashlee explained. “My fans know. I had to know that in my heart.”
Ashlee acknowledged that she’s “had ups and downs just like every other human” and even though she feels like she momentarily lost her voice, that take away from her artistic integrity.
“That doesn’t mean [I] didn’t write these songs,” she noted.
Also in the interview, Ashlee wondered how different the response would be if the mishap happened now versus back then, when a scandal like that fell on a celeb’s “shoulders forever.”
“I think it’s different now,” she said. “For us, we had the magazines and this. Now everything’s kinda more fleeting.”
Find out how SNL boss Lorne Michaels reacted in real-time to Ashlee Simpson‘s lip-syncing snafu.