She can’t even carry a tuna
Jessica Simpson‘s new album came out Tuesday, but she was keeping quiet about it.
“It is true that she has indeed lost her voice,” said Simpson’s publicist, Rob Shuter.
“She’s been ordered to rest. … She can talk, she can croak out a few sentences. She sounds a little off, but, you know, she can’t sing.”
Simpson, 26, fell ill Friday and has “a strain, a bruise on her vocal cord,” Shuter said.
She canceled a planned appearance on CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman,” but dropped by MTV’s “Total Request Live” on Tuesday, introducing music videos in a hoarse voice and signing CDs for fans.
Simpson hopes her condition improves by Friday, when she is scheduled to perform on NBC’s “Today” show.
“She’s trying,” Shuter said. “Everybody is hoping and keeping their fingers crossed.”
Simpson’s younger sister, Ashlee, was infamously caught lip-synching to recorded vocals during a 2004 “Saturday Night Live” performance after her voice allegedly gave out.
Good as gold
Hours after telling a national TV audience he would, Barry Manilow took his new Emmy into the hospital as a good-luck charm.
Apparently it worked. Manilow came through Monday’s hip surgery “swimmingly,” his publicist says.
Manilow won for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program.
Born to run?
Bruce Springsteen is denying rumors that he and wife Patti Scialfa are splitting up.
“Patti and I have been together for 18 years – the best 18 years of my life,” Springsteen says on his Web site. “We have built a beautiful family we love and want to protect, and our commitment to one another remains as strong as the day we were married.”
He and backup singer Scialfa, his second wife, married in 1991 and have three children.
The New York Post reported last week that their marriage was on the rocks because of Springsteen’s relationship with a Sept. 11 widow he met while organizing a charity event.
A real four-flusher
No mystery here: Tom Arnold has filed for legal separation from his third wife, Shelby Roos, after four years of marriage.
Arnold, 47, was divorced from first wife Roseanne Barr in 1994 after nearly four years of marriage. He was married to Julie Lynne Champnella from 1995 to 1999.
Not-so-quick Foxy
Hip-hop bad girl Foxy Brown is headed to anger management classes after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a fight with salon workers over a manicure.
Just minutes after entering the plea on Monday, Brown – having found out she would need to report to a probation officer monthly for three years and likely undergo random drug testing – tried to withdraw it, saying she had been rushed into the decision.
No dice, the judge said.
The birthday bunch
Country singer Kitty Wells is 87. Actor/politician Ben Jones (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) is 65. Actress Peggy Lipton (“The Mod Squad”) is 59. Comedian Lewis Black (“The Daily Show”) is 58. Actor Michael Chiklis (“The Shield”) is 43. Actress Cameron Diaz is 34. TV personality Lisa Ling is 33.