Jessica Simpson has come full circle by revisiting her well-known tuna gaffe in a new advertisement for Chicken of the Sea, with her 11-year-old daughter, Maxwell Johnson, accompanying her. Two decades after Simpson, a singer, reality star, and fashion mogul, famously questioned if she was eating chicken or tuna on “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica,” she humorously addresses the same confusion in a brand campaign, likely for a substantial payment.
In the advertisement, Maxwell inquires about the contents of her food pouch, and Simpson clarifies that Chicken of the Sea is actually tuna, not chicken, despite the name. Her daughter, somewhat incredulously, wonders who could be confused by such a thing, to which Simpson responds, suggesting nobody, certainly not her.
Another scene in the ad features Maxwell echoing Simpson’s original question to Nick Lachey from their MTV show in 2003, asking if the food is tuna or chicken. When Jessica admits to finding it confusing, Maxwell reveals she’s just joking and knows it’s tuna, leaving Jessica to awkwardly agree. Simpson shared the clip on social media, reaffirming her continued preference for Chicken of the Sea.
Unlike many celebrities who might have distanced themselves from such a public mistake, Simpson, who was 23 and aspiring to be a pop star at the time, embraced the persona of a “bubblehead blond.” Despite recognizing it as a genuine moment of confusion, along with other similar incidents, she expressed in her 2020 memoir, “Open Book,” that she didn’t mind being the subject of jokes since it helped draw viewers to their show and boost her album sales, even after being labeled a Britney Spears imitation.
She reflected on how she was often the punchline, finding comfort in the laughter she generated and feeling smart in her ability to deceive others into underestimating her intelligence. Shortly after the famous Newlyweds episode aired in 2003, Simpson’s music video for “With You,” featuring her eating tuna, became an instant hit on TRL.
Following the episode, she appeared at a Chicken of the Sea company event in October 2003, where she was educated about the product and paid generously for her attendance, subsequently boosting the brand’s sales by 10%. Discussions to make her the spokeswoman emerged, but it took another two decades to materialize.
Simpson has since maintained her humorous approach to the incident, making jokes about it on Saturday Night Live in 2004 and sharing related memes on social media. She humorously commented on similar situations, like Whole Foods’ tuna scandal in 2017 and Subway’s lawsuit over its tuna.
In brainstorming titles for her memoir with friends, one suggestion played on the tuna-chicken confusion, but she opted for “Open Book,” a title reflecting more than just her viral moment that eclipsed Lachey’s fame and contributed to their relationship’s strain. Her memoir also covers her divorce, battles with alcoholism, toxic relationship with John Mayer, near-fatal plastic surgery, and more.
Even last year, as Newlyweds celebrated its 20th anniversary, Simpson continued to reference the joke, playfully questioning the identity of chicken wings in a social media post. Now, in the new ad, she revisits the tuna topic, willingly playing the fool to her astute daughter, whom she shares with her husband, Eric Johnson. The couple, married since 2014, also have two other children, Ace and Birdie, hinting at the possibility of future ads featuring the entire family, as Simpson shows no signs of letting go of the tuna joke.
