Entertainment
Jessica Simpson on How She Overcame Her Nerves for First TV Performance in 15 Years
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NEED TO KNOW
- Jessica Simpson admitted to being very nervous for her television return after a 15-year hiatus
- The singer performed on the American Idol season finale Sunday, May 18
- Her next projects include her EP Nashville Canyon, Pt. 2 and a cameo on Ryan Murphy’s All’s Fair
Jessica Simpson used a few not-so-common tricks to help combat her nerves for her first television performance in 15 years.
Speaking to Extra after the American Idol season finale on Sunday, May 18, the 44-year-old singer admitted to using hairspray to keep her rooted.
Disney/Stewart Cook
“Oh, my God, I was dying. I can’t even tell you how long it’s been since I’ve been that nervous. Like, I had to put hairspray on my feet to stand still, like, not that it actually keeps me put, but, like, my feet were sweating. I’m like, my feet don’t sweat,” she told the outlet.
Simpson continued, “I just kept telling myself, ‘Do not cry. Do not cry. I know this is a big moment … do not cry.’ And then I see my dad, like, up in the corner, and I’m like, ‘Ah, I’m going to cry. I’m going to cry. Do not cry. Just sing your songs. Just sing your songs.’ ”
The “Sweetest Sin” singer admitted her more than a decade absence has been “a really long time.”
For her return, she was joined by former contestant Josh King. The two did a duet of her 2005 song, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin,’ ” which she recorded for the Dukes of Hazzard soundtrack.
Disney/Christopher Willard
“The last time was a Christmas song, so that’s easy,” she said of her prior performance years ago.
Now, the star has a new EP, Nashville Canyon, Pt. 1, with part two set to arrive this summer.
“It is so much a part of my soul, and so to sing a song off of that I felt naked, to be honest, like, it was very bare and raw and very vulnerable,” Simpson said of the new music.
As for how her little ones feel, Simpson said she can’t wait to hear their reaction.
“I haven’t gotten to talk to them yet, but I’m so excited to talk to them because they’ve never seen me sing live like that,” the proud mother said during her interview with Extra.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
Simpson and her estranged husband Eric Johnson are mom and dad to three kids: Maxwell “Maxi” Drew, 13, Ace Knute, 11, and Birdie Mae, 6.
The former couple were married for 10 years before announcing their split on Jan. 13.
In addition to getting back onstage, the Employee of the Month actress added that she’s also back in front of the camera.
“I did an episode of ‘All’s Fair,’ and what a show! I mean, great cast. It is so fun,” she said. “I didn’t want it to end, like, I was so grateful that Ryan Murphy thought of me.”
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Telling the story of female divorce attorneys who start their own firm, the upcoming series stars Glenn Close, Teyana Taylor, Kim Kardashian, Niecy Nash-Betts, Naomi Watts and Sarah Paulson.
“His people called my people,” Simpson said of the series creator contacting her. She also added that she and the Skims mogul, 44, are friends, adding, “I don’t know if it was her idea at all, but definitely, I was glad she was on set and we had scenes together.”
She described her role on the show as “very crazy.”
While speaking of her new endeavors, she added, “This is like Jessica Simpson 4.0.”
Entertainment
Rod Stewart, 81, stops Utah concert to use oxygen tank onstage after nearly fainting

Rod Stewart was forced to use an oxygen tank onstage when he nearly fainted during his Utah concert on Friday night — weeks after cancelling a series of gigs over health issues.
The 81-year-old rock legend was performing at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City when fans noticed he wasn’t moving around the stage as much as usual.
Stewart appeared to lean on instruments, stage barriers and a pole for support while continuing to perform, according to video obtained by TMZ.
At one point, attendants brought out an oxygen tank, and Stewart took several deep breaths before addressing the crowd.
“The show must go on,” he told concertgoers. “I nearly f—ing fainted there. Would you mind if I sit down for this one?”
The British star then finished the performance seated in a chair.
West Valley City sits roughly 4,300 feet above sea level, and the altitude may have played a factor in the singer’s apparent discomfort.
The incident comes one week after Stewart canceled a June 12 concert in San Diego less than an hour before showtime.
Organizers initially cited a sinus infection, while Stewart later revealed he had been diagnosed with an acute upper respiratory infection that caused laryngitis.
Stewart later faced criticism when he was spotted at a World Cup match in Boston less than a day after pulling out of the San Diego concert.
Photos and videos shared online showed him cheering on Scotland from the stands after traveling by private jet with his sons, Aidan and Alastair, and appearing to enjoy a drink while watching the match.
The singer also canceled two Las Vegas shows in May, telling fans he was on vocal rest while battling a sinus infection.
“My apologies to my family of fans. I am on vocal rest as I recover from a sinus infection,” Stewart said at the time.
“I look forward to seeing you at a future show at Caesars Palace or on tour this summer.”
Despite the recent health setbacks, Stewart has maintained that he has no plans to retire.
After announcing his “One Last Time” farewell tour in 2024, the singer clarified that he was stepping away from large-scale world tours — not live performances altogether.
“This will be the end of large-scale world tours for me, but I have no desire to retire,” Stewart shared on Instagram at the time. “I love what I do, and I do what I love.”
“I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79,” he added.
Stewart has long credited his fitness routine for helping him stay on the road.
“I keep myself very fit,” he told AARP last year. “I played soccer all my life — don’t so much anymore, because I had a knee replacement. And I’ve always had a trainer — same guy for 38 years.”
The singer added that he has a “massive” gym and an indoor pool at home, saying, “We do a lot of underwater training, where the trainer throws a brick into the pool and I have to dive in, push the brick to the end of the pool, and come up.”
Stewart is scheduled to continue his “One Last Time” tour across the US throughout July and August, with the final date currently set for Aug. 15 in St. Louis.
Entertainment
Taylor Swift-approved singer scores invite to her wedding celebration with Travis Kelce: report

Sombr will remember the night.
The singer has scored an invite to pal Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding celebration.
According to TMZ, sources shared that the artist is set to attend the couple’s July 3 party at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
A rep for Sombr didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The artists have become close friends in recent months, even hanging out together after a New York Knicks game in The Big Apple.
Sombr also performed during Swift’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this month.
At the ceremony, Sombr and Kelce shared a hug and chatted for a bit, per a TikTok video.
Karlie Kloss, Zoë Kravitz, Ed Sheeran, Suki Waterhouse, the Haim sisters, Gigi Hadid and Selena Gomez are among other A-listers who have reportedly received invites.
TMZ previously reported that Swift was calling friends to personally invite them to her special day and that she had an a ironclad non-disclosure agreement in place.
The outlet noted that guests who received a wedding invitation were required to sign an NDA before receiving anymore details about the event.
Sources added that when a guest confirmed their attendance, they were then sent the link to sign.
Guests are prohibited from sharing details about the wedding and will be penalized if violations occur.
Rumors originally swirled the Swift and Kelce, both 36, would tie the knot in Rhode Island, before it was revealed that the couple is saying “I do” at MSG.
As the duo’s pre-wedding festivities amp up, Page Six revealed that Kelce partied with close friends at Bird Streets Club on Friday night.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a small group of women wearing black, with one dressed in white, were spotted on one of the rooftop balconies of Swift’s Rhode Island mansion.
One of the songwriter’s best friends Abigail Anderson Berard was later seen on the property carrying her toddler.
The Kansas City Chiefs player proposed to the Grammy winner after two years of dating in August 2025.
Swift and Kelce confirmed the news on Instagram at the time, writing alongside proposal shots, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
The tight end popped the question in the backyard of his Lee’s Summit, Missouri, mansion.
“He got her out there, they were about to go out to dinner, and he said, ‘Let’s go out and have a glass of wine,’ … They got out there, and that’s when he asked her, and it was beautiful,” Kelce’s dad, Ed, told ABC News 5 Cleveland at the time.
Ed gushed, “They started FaceTiming me and their mother [Donna Kelce] and her folks [mom Andrea Swift and dad Scott Swift] to make sure everybody knew. So, to see them together is great.”
Entertainment
Daveigh Chase’s mom breaks silence on actress’ death

Daveigh Chase’s mother, Cathy Chase, revealed her stunned reaction to her daughter’s death in an emotional new interview.
“I was devastated. It felt like something inside of me squeezing all of the air out of me, and at the same time, It felt like I was exploding outwardly,” she told the Daily Mail in comments published on Friday.
She told the outlet that after hearing about her daughter’s death on Tuesday at age 35, she was in disbelief.
“I let out this guttural scream and I just was running,” she recalled. “And these weird sounds were coming out of me, these kind of, like, primeval sounds.”
“And I went out into the backyard, and I was screaming, “No, no, no, no!” I am in so much pain but I hope her soul heard me,” she said.
Cathy told the outlet that on Tuesday evening — the day before news of the “Lilo & Stitch” star’s death emerged — she’d been searching online forums for clues of where her “sunshine” daughter might be, something she’s done on a nightly basis.
“The Ring” actress and her mother had not seen each other since 2019. Cathy, who lives in Los Angeles, told the outlet that she’d frequently check the LA County Medical Examiner’s system for her daughter’s name, as well.
“I would look at their list of unidentified bodies,” Cathy divulged. “It was very difficult, but you do everything you can as a mother.”
When TMZ broke the news that the “Spirited Away” voice actress — who had reportedly been living near Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row — had died after battling meningitis and a blood infection leading to sepsis, Cathy confessed she thought it was “fake news.”
“But then all of a sudden, it’s all of these different legitimate sites had her name and I realized that it wasn’t fake,” she shared.
The grieving mother identified her daughter’s body on Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital, and prayed with a chaplain while “touching the glass” because it was “as close as we could get.”
“It was a beautiful experience, and, and I feel very blessed, too, have been able to share that with my daughter.”
Cathy told the outlet that her daughter’s problems began in 2016, when she was injured in a motorcycle accident and began taking painkillers.
After that, Cathy said the “Big Love” actress was “seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people,” and said despite rumors, she “never kicked [her] daughter out.”
“She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs,” Cathy claimed. “That was the beginning.”
Cathy said she’d last seen her daughter during a jail visit after she faced two counts of alleged burglary in 2019, describing Daveigh as “completely gone, like out of her mind.”
“I honestly thought there was something wrong with her,” she recalled. “My daughter was never diagnosed with mental health other than PTSD. But the drugs took hold of her.”
Cathy claimed she had an agreement to pick up Daveigh when she was released from jail, but her daughter “never waited. She went back to the streets and I couldn’t find her,” she said.
The bereaved mom said it “upsets”. her that “people are saying I must’ve been a bad mother,” but insisted she “never gave up” on the “Donnie Darko” actress.
“As a mother, you don’t give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home,” she said.
Just prior to her death — which was first reported by TMZ — Roy Hernandez, a man claiming to be Daveigh’s boyfriend, set up a fundraiser for the actress.
But the actress’s former manager, John Ryan, cast doubt on the fundraiser’s legitimacy, telling The Post on Wednesday that “apparently, a man claiming to be her ‘boyfriend’ that none of us friends or her family has heard of has set up a GoFundMe on ‘her and her families behalf’ that he set her up as the organizer.”
He added, “I can confirm Daveigh has a trust account set up at SAG to cover all costs.” Hernandez, meanwhile, insisted to TMZ that anything gained from his fundraiser would go toward a “proper memorial” for Daveigh.
Ryan — who also said he’d attempted to locate the troubled actress prior to her hospitalization for malnutrition and subsequent death — also claimed the actress left behind millions in residuals.
Ryan told the outlet that Daveigh was “too far gone” on illicit drugs to claim the funds, despite his attempts to get in touch.
Almost ten years prior to her death, Daveigh shared her final Instagram post — a grainy photo of her standing next to a unicorn balloon in Los Angeles in 2017.
In 2009, she shared with Interview magazine that she hoped to “do things that will change someone’s life, not something they’ll forget about tomorrow.”
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