Spoilers ahead for the Season 14 finale of The Masked Singer, which is streaming now with a Hulu subscription.
Throughout Saturday Night Live’s 51-season run, which is continuing on the 2026 TV schedule, the series has played host to a number of memorable moments. One of those major instances on the live sketch show is easily Ashlee Simpson’s lip-syncing controversy and, even over 20 years on, it remains discussed. Now, however, Simpson is opening up about why she's ready to return to Studio 8H for another performance.
Simpson, who recently won The Masked Singer Season 14, performed on SNL back in 2004. It was her first time on the sketch series, and her appearance came just months after her number one debut album, Autobiography, was released. Her first performance of “Pieces of Me” went off without a hitch but, when it came time for her to sing “Autobiography,” a track from “Pieces of Me” began playing before she could start singing. With that, This led to Simpson awkwardly dancing before ultimately leaving the stage altogether.
While Simpson addressed the issue later in the episode, she still faced accusations of lip syncing for some time. While discussing TMS with Entertainment Weekly, though, Simpson referenced the Saturday Night Live debacle, and she now seems to have a positive take on it:
Now it's something I can laugh about. It's something I've been through, so it's not something I look at like I'm going through anymore. It's a part of my young adulthood and what kind of shaped me as the person I am now.
There have been some pretty memorable musical guests on SNL over the years, and Simpson was certainly unforgettable (just maybe not for all the right reasons). What part of that speaks to is the fact that during a live show, anything can happen, and that's something Simpson mentioned that night during the SNL episode's goodbyes. I can imagine that situation seeming embarrassing at the time, but Simpson explained one way in which she benefited from it:
I think that [in] life, sometimes you need a little fight in you. So that definitely gave me that.
What's ironic about the blowback is that Ashlee Simpson ultimately returned to SNL in 2005 to promote her sophomore album, I Am Me. During that episode, she beautifully performed “Catch Me When I Fall” and “Boyfriend,” but someone could argue that her second outing remained overshadowed by her first. That being said, Simpson is more than ready to return a third time:
Oh, yeah. I would definitely go back. That chapter is behind me, and I never looked at myself as that moment defined me. Right after that, I went on tour and everything.
While Simpson has not released any music in nearly two decades, her Masked Singer win proves that she still has what it takes to perform. Plus, even if she doesn’t have any new music to perform, it would be great to see her sing some throwbacks and get a second chance to perform “Autobiography” on air. With Simpson slowly returning to music, I would hope that SNL producer Lorne Michaels can co. might consider having her on an upcoming episode.
Because Saturday Night Live does welcome so many next hosts and musical guests, it's entirely possible that Ashlee Simpson could end up back on the show at some point. Time will tell if that actually comes to pass, of course. And, for anyone who wants to see Simpson's maligned 2004 performance, know that it's not streamable with Peacock subscription. (But there are some clips floating around on YouTube).
