Was Jessica Simpson Drunk On Live Television? What’s Behind The Hot Mess?!

While she may have been selling jeans on the air, it appears that Jessica Simpson was more into sheets. Three sheets to be more precise. Last night, the billionaire singer/actress/fashion mogul debuted her JSCollection on the Home Shopping Network—but according to fans everywhere, she seemed downright drunk. And it wasn’t just the fans that thought so. TMZ caught wind of the program and characterized Simpson as seeming “dazed and confused”.

Throughout the entire two-hour broadcast, Simpson seemed completely out of it, especially when telling a story about her sister Ashlee sharing jeans with her husband Evan Ross. “Ashlee is like the best at wearing gray… my sister…. Like, she’s very rock ‘n’ roll, but there’s something about a gray… that’s like… sexy.”

Slurring her words and giggling as she spoke, she continued with her odd musings by saying, “Maybe it’s her and her husband. They share jeans… I have no idea…. I dunno there’s just something hot about them.”

Viewers were perplexed when Simpson wandered off screen more than once, then  re-emerged out of nowhere. At one point her mother Tina made an unscheduled appearance—which many believe was in order to help coral her daughter’s bizarre behavior.

Her inebriated stint caught on quick in social media circles, drawing viewers to HSN who wouldn’t necessarily have ever tuned in—including those watching Thursday Night Football.

“She should not be on live TV!”

Response to the mega-star’s appearance on the show was instantaneous. The HSN website lit up with outraged viewers who lambasted the star and network. Some offered sympathy for regular host Colleen Lopez —whom many feel had just been through the longest two hours of her career.

Wrote one viewer, “[Jessica] is horrible, she is talking constantly over Colleen and her mother isn’t much better. They aren’t even able to give a decent description of the products. Sorry HSN I have turned the channel!!”

“This must be the longest 2-hours of Colleen’s life,” remarked another annoyed viewer. “Jessica lacks grace, poise, confidence, and knowledge of her products.”

And the complaints continued with several more irate buyers saying:

• “I sincerely hope she takes some of her profits and enrolls in a ‘finishing’ school.”
• “I could only watch her for 3 minutes….  She should not be on live TV! Shame HSN! Even your best show host, Colleen is having a hard time with her!”
• “Lifetime of makeouts”? Come on! HSN you have more class than this!”
• “Don’t make excuses for Jessica Simpson’s behavior tonight…. She has had years and years in the spotlight performing.”

While it appears from the HSN comments section that Simpson may have done more damage to her brand than good, it needs to be said that her collection did indeed sell out.

So … was savvy Simpson just playing along with her dumb blonde reputation in order to get attention and sales? Or was she really sauced on the set? The answer remains to be seen—but don’t be surprised when her PR machine comes out tomorrow saying “Jessica was suffering from exhaustion due to the launch of her new collection” or something to that effect.