Snubbed by Mr. Nasty! November 11 is reportedly the day that Jessica Simpson will become a Mrs. once more, but even pulling together an extravagant multimillion-dollar wedding to her doting yet unemployed fiance Eric Johnson hasn’t kept the songstress-turned-stylista from feeling down in the dumps just weeks after missing out on the chance to join music mogul Simon Cowell on The X Factor judges panel.
“They have definitely talked to me about X Factor,” Jessica told Women’s Wear Daily back in March. “I think it would be a lot of fun. It’s definitely my life. To be a mentor for up-and-coming artists is right up my alley. I would have loved to have a mentor. I love watching people’s dreams come true.”
Instead it will be talent show alum Paula Abdul, veteran record exec Antonio “L.A.” Reid,” and Cheryl Cole, a British girl bander relatively unknown Stateside, who will sit alongside Simon, giving their two cents on talent, when The X Factor premieres on FOX in September. Jennifer Lopez trumped Jessica for the chance to replace Cowell as a judge on American Idol, thanks largely to some calculating negotiating by her manager dad Joe, now the “Sweetest Sin” singer can’t help but fear that she’s lost her last chance to revive what’s left of her pop career.
“She was devastated when she didn’t get hired to be a judge on The X Factor,” a Simpson Camp squeal in-the-know blabs in the May 30 issue of In Touch Weekly. “Though she knows she’s lucky her clothing line is so successful [estimated to be worth close to $1 billion], she felt like The X Factor was her last chance in terms of her showbiz career.”
The X Factor, offering a $5 million prize and a recording contract to one lucky winner, will air Wednesdays and Thursdays on FOX this fall.