Why is Jessica Simpson on Vanity Fair cover?

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

Does Jessica Simpson represent “celebrity in America?” According to the June issue of Vanity Fair, that's the case.

When VF released the cover image of Simpson the morning of May 4, a flurry of Twitter feeds and blog comments expressed similar sentiments: How did Simpson, who has no new show, film or bombshell to drop, land one of the most prestigious magazine covers on newsstands?

Simpson, who at one point couldn’t get into the Vanity Fair Oscar party, apparently swayed editors just by being Jess.

“She’s at a crossroads in her career," said Beth Kseniak, Vanity Fair's director of public relations. “Where she’s headed — or not — says a lot about the nature of celebrity in America. And she looks pretty decent in a swimsuit, contrary to recent reports.”

“At a crossroads” applies to a number of celebrities. One could argue Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Pratt are at a crossroads, but it’s doubtful they’ll be on the cover of VF any time soon.

“Having Jessica on the cover right now reminds me of Paris Hilton’s cover,” one A-list publicist said. “It makes you think twice before having a more serious client follow Simpson.”

To be fair, Vanity Fair has hardly been consistent with the tone and tenor of their cover subjects. It makes your head hurt to try and find a common theme among Tina Fey (January), Barack Obama (March) and Gisele Bundchen (May).

If Simpson seemed to have nothing to promote in this issue, should we be treating this as a walkup to some sort of announcement, career, personal, or otherwise, in the near future? “No, Jessica has nothing she’s planning to announce,” said her rep, Lauren Auslander.

Which leaves us with VF’s reasoning: Simpson is our canary in the celebrity coal mine, and unlike when she was featured in those unfortunate chili-cook off photos, she now looks good in a swimsuit.

‘Chuck fans,’ don’t give up!
To all the loyal “Chuck” followers out there: don’t give up on the show.

NBC announced May 4 that no decision has been made about the geek-turned-spy series. If you want it to stick around, you’ve got until the expected May 19 decision to make your plea.

“Life,” on the other hand, is dead, and “My Name is Earl” is still hoping for good karma.

Gerber, Clooney offer to take lie-detector tests
Rande Gerber, hotelier and husband to Cindy Crawford, is speaking out against a lawsuit that alleges that on a single occasion in September 2008, he attempted to kiss and fondle a former waitress.

Slideshow   Celebrity sightings Ginnifer Goodwin gets serious at the “Single Man” screening, Beyonce wows Berlin at MTV awards, Claire Danes is a BAFTA beauty and more. more photos

Both Gerber and friend George Clooney, who says he was with Gerber at the time of the alleged kiss, are offering to take lie-detector tests to prove they're telling the truth about what happened.

“This allegation is a blatant lie that will be proven false," the Gerber Group said in a statement. “Multiple witnesses, including George Clooney, the bar managers, waitresses and others, will testify that they were with Mr. Gerber for the short time period in question and that Mr. Gerber never kissed or touched any waitress.

The statement goes on to say, "Mr. Gerber and Mr. Clooney are willing to take lie detector tests to prove that the allegations against Mr. Gerber are false. Mr. Gerber will not settle this extortion case even for a single dollar and will take all actions necessary to clear his name, including filing a $10 million lawsuit for malicious prosecution once these allegations are proven false.”

Prince would like people to play real guitars
Rumors of Prince striking a deal with the makers of video game Guitar Hero are untrue.

The artist told talk show host Tavis Smiley while his feelings didn’t have anything to do with the deal the company was offering, he just thinks that maybe kids should learn the real deal.

"I ain't mad at them," he told Smiley, "I just think it's more important that kids learn how to actually play the guitar," Prince said.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.

Don't miss this on msnbc.com Entertainment When it comes to stardom, Clooney has smarts For ‘Big Bang’s’ Sheldon, the nerd is the word TV snobs are wrong about ‘Two and a Half Men’ ‘Saw’ franchise creates buzz, but is it any good? Can ‘This Is It’ save concert movie genre?

MORE FROM THE SCOOP

The Scoop Section Front

No immediate plans to move ‘Oprah’ Rihanna says album helped recovery Stewart doesn’t want Jolie-level fame Heidi and Spencer’s book a disgrace Kate needs to use interview to redeem herself The Scoop Section Front   Add The Scoop headlines to your news reader: