John & Jessica Kaput, Papa Joe kicks Publicist to the Curb

Jessica Simpson's infamous dadager Joe - perhaps unamused by reports appearing in People, US Weekly and Star magazines of his daughter sizzling to quickly fizzling romance with singer John Mayer - gave publicist Rob Shuter the boot earlier this week. From an AP story...

"... reportedly because he's quite perturbed about the way Shuter put the spin on his little girl's burgeoning relationship with Mayer, with a People magazine cover story Aug. 31 touting Simpson's declaration that she was in love eventually turning into an Us Weekly cover pronouncing the singer "Dumped!

A source close to the hullabaloo told Radar magazine that the overblown story was "100 percent Shuter. 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."

A call to Shuter was not immediately returned. Radar and TMZ.com were the first to report the split.

Meanwhile, the latest issue of Star points the finger at Joe Simpson and an Epic Records executive who allegedly cultivated the romance in the media to add to the buzz surrounding the release of Simpson's latest album, A Public Affair, which ended up moving about 95,000 copies its first week out.

An Epic spokeswoman called the accusation "ludicrous." Joe Simpson also denied having a hand in the hype.

While the People story didn't feature Joe actually confirming that there was a love connection between Simpson and Mayer, he did tell the magazine, "I love John Mayer�If my daughter's happy, then I'm happy. And if she's in love, then I'm in love with the fact that she finds happiness. It's been a tough year for her."

Both People and Us Weekly have stood by their reporting.

Meanwhile, Mayer's camp is turning this into a Simpson-only affair. A "friend" of the Heavier Things singer said in Us' Sept. 18 issue that Mayer is distancing himself from his brief fling and "now he will stay away from her. He thinks it's desperate. An attempt for her to stay in the spotlight."

"It's very clear to John who was pushing this story," another Mayer-man said.

Someone from Simpson's side of things also told Us that the 25-year-old divorcee "met a guy who was scared away by all the attention."

Yet another helpful confidante told Life & Style this week that Simpson is "really upset that something she hoped would work out has fizzled."
Source: AP News