Posted on 03/15/2006 8:11:39 PM PST by doesnt suffer fools gladly
Jessica Simpson snubs Bush Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:50 PM ET
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Concerned about politicizing her favorite charity, singer-actress Jessica Simpson on Wednesday turned down a invitation to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, a snub that left Republicans dismayed.
The apparent final word that Simpson would be a no-show at a major Republican fund-raiser with Bush and congressional leaders on Thursday night came after a day of conflicting reports from her camp and organizers of the event.
The blond star of the film "The Dukes of Hazzard" still plans to visit Washington on Thursday to lobby members of Congress on behalf of Operation Smile, a non-profit venture offering free plastic surgery for disadvantaged children overseas with facial deformities.
People close to Simpson said she declined a request to appear that same evening at the gala fund-raiser of the National Republican Congressional Committee -- even after she was offered some private face time with Bush -- because Operation Smile is a non-partisan group.
"It just feels wrong," one Simpson insider told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the actress keeps her political views private. "She would love to meet the president and talk about Operation Smile ... but she can't do it at a fund-raiser for the Republican Party."
NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said he was surprised at Simpson's position.
"It's never been a problem for Bono," he said, referring to the U2 rock star who has met regularly with political leaders of all stripes to promote various causes, including Third World debt relief. "I find it hard to believe she would pass up an opportunity to lobby the president on behalf of Operation Smile."
Although Simpson's publicists insisted she never had planned to attend the fund-raiser, Forti said the actress initially accepted the NRCC invitation when it was extended on Tuesday night, only to change her mind the next evening.
Forti said the Republican group had even arranged for Simpson to dine at one of the head tables with U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. The NRCC hopes the $2,500-per-plate dinner event will raise $7.5 million for Republican candidates in the congressional midterm elections in November.
Simpson, 25, a Texas native who started out singing in her church choir, became a star on the Christian music circuit as a teenager and crossed over to the pop mainstream with her major-label debut album "Sweet Kisses" in 1999.
She became an overnight MTV sensation in 2003 as co-star of a reality show chronicling her first year of wedlock with fellow pop vocalist Nick Lachey, but she filed for divorce in December after three stormy years of marriage. Simpson is currently featured wearing cowboy boots and hot pants in a TV pizza ad.
People are always saying, "shut up and sing." She did.
Our culture is upside down.
Well, darn.
She'll get blasted for this even though she really is trying to shut up and sing, or in this case shut up and do charity work. It's a pity more entertainers won't distance themselves from politics. Good for her.
What's to boycott? She was a ZERO before and a ZERO after. I would never buy anything of which she is selling anyway.
Am I the only straight male on the planet who doesn't find her even remotely attractive? C'mon, men, we can do better than this....
-Dan
Guess she's not going to star on the L Word then?
"Jessica Simpson on Wednesday turned down a invitation to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, a snub that left Republicans dismayed...Simpson is currently featured wearing cowboy boots and hot pants in a TV pizza ad."
Yeah, I can see why the GOP is torn up not being associated with this person, whoever she is.
Psst....hey Jessica, now that you're single, why don't you take a trip to Green Bay and meet me somewhere?
Where the h are the pictures
It was a stupid move by the GOP anyway. The GOP has no business courting celebrities.
What has this to do with "Shut up and sing"? She's not preaching her personal ideology. She turned down an invitation from the President, which makes me think she's a frickin' vapid loon.
She meets with Bush and she can kiss any upcoming roles in Hollywood goodbye. You know how Hollywood is.
I can't stand blonds I could stand this one she is cute
Operation Smile Train is financed by those soon-to-be-imprisoned crooks from Computer Associates (CA) software. Sanjay Kumar, Stephen Richards, Ira Zar and a handful of others embezzled millions upon millions of dollars. The judge in the case has apparently stripped them of their passports (Operation Smile Train or not...) since they're likely to flee the country rather than face prosecution. Hopefully the kids get their facial surgeries, but rest assured the people behind the organization aren't exactly humanitarians.
~ Blue Jays ~
>>>Am I the only straight male on the planet who doesn't find her even remotely attractive? <<<
She ain't Hillary-ugly, but she ain't the goddess the media & some guys here make her out to be either.
If this isn't pure all-American beauty, then I don't know what is.
Who is Jessica Simpson?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.