Celebrity
20 Years Later, Jessica Simpson Knows Chicken Of The Sea Is Tuna
“Don’t get confused by it.”
In 2003, Jessica Simpson asked her then-husband Nick Lachey one of the most iconic questions in reality TV history, while eating a bowl of Chicken of the Sea: “Is this chicken that I have, or is this fish?”
Over 20 years later, Simpson now knows that Chicken of the Sea is, in fact, tuna, as she assured fans in a new commercial for the brand, which premiered on Jan. 11. The multi-hyphenate stars in the ad with her 11-year-old daughter Maxwell, who joins her on the couch and asks what she’s eating.
“It’s called Chicken of the Sea, but it’s not really chicken — it’s tuna,” she responded. “So don’t get confused by it.” Instead, Maxwell is puzzled by that advice, questioning, “Who would get confused by that?” Simpson quickly answers, “No one. Not your Mom,” letting out an awkward laugh. Then, she looks away, and the past haunts her.
The OG Chicken Of The Sea
The OG blunder occurred on the premiere episode of her and Lachey’s MTV show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, when Simpson was indulging in Chicken of the Sea but wasn’t quite sure whether it was tuna or chicken. “I know it’s tuna, but it says chicken by the sea,” she said. “Is that stupid? What is it called — chicken by the sea or in the sea?”
Lachey, like all of us, was utterly confused. “Chicken of the Sea is the brand,” he said. “You know, ’cause a lot of people eat tuna, just like a lot of people eat chicken. Chicken of the Sea.” After a pause, Simpson realized. “Oh, I understand now. I read it wrong,” she said.
Needless to say, Simpson has never been able to live that one down. But in recent years, she’s come to embrace and reclaim the gaffe.
In 2016, a meme of a chicken swimming in the ocean went viral, which was captioned, “Maybe Jessica Simpson was on to something?” Simpson proudly reposted the meme on her Instagram, with the hashtag #Chickenbythesea.
The next year, Whole Foods recalled buffalo chicken salads in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York because it actually contained tuna. Simpson shared Time’s headline on Instagram, responding, “It happens to the best of us @wholefoods.” At this point, it’s happened to all of us.
