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Jessica's Publicist Fired Over Romance Rumors

Looks like Jessica Simpson's other public affair hasn't fared much better than her album, A Public Affair, which debuted last week to lackluster sales. America's favorite bubbleheaded blonde is now denying rumors that she was ever in a relationship with heartthrob singer-songwriter John Mayer, and her father/manager, Joe Simpson, even made the rather drastic move of firing the publicist who spoke to People and Us Weekly about the alleged romance.

Jessica, who has also struggled over the past week with a strained vocal chord, appeared this week on The View and flatly declared, "I am actually not dating John Mayer." And one of those ever-popular "sources close to" told Radar magazine that fired publicist Rob Shuter had, in essence, made the whole thing up. "He broke all the rules of the game. He's a pathological liar. I wonder how much Jessica even knew what he was up to."

Papa Simpson hasn't publicly commented on the whole Mayer-Simpson flap, except to deny new rumors that the relationship was either greatly exaggerated or just plain fabricated to generate some publicity for A Public Affair. Mayer, for his part, apparently said all he has to say by posting a link to Public Enemy's "Don't Believe the Hype" with the comment, "Really enjoying this song right now."

So what really happened between Ms. Daisy Duke and Mr. "Your Body is a Wonderland"? We may never know, but one thing's for certain: Jessica's next affair is likely to be a lot less public.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
09.08.06