John Mayer Still Pop Culture Public Enemy No. 1
Jessica Simpson brushes off John Mayer after Playboy interview.
Feb. 17, 2010 -- John Mayer just can't catch a break.
A week after the release of his controversial Playboy interview in which he used the "n-word," likened his penis to a white supremicist and compared sex with ex-girlfriend Jessica Simpson to "crack cocaine," Mayer's still pop culture public enemy No. 1.
Actress Holly Robinson Peete told People magazine that she was "disgusted and offended" by Mayer's interview, despite the fact that he called her "gorgeous" while describing black women who he finds attractive.
"This guy has some major issues to sort through and a whole lot of apologies to make," she said. "I heard some apologies about the 'n-word,' and I've seen him crying, which seemed sincere. But I don't know if he understands how much he hurt black women's feelings."
Meanwhile, Simpson is downplaying the role he had in her life. In an interview with Allure magazine (which was conducted prior to the release of Mayer's Playboy tell-all) she said he wasn't responsible for her change in hair color during their 2006-'07 relationship.
"He didn't make me go brunette," she said. "John doesn't get credit for making me brunette. He'd like to think so, but he doesn't deserve the credit."
Earlier today, PopEater.com reported that Oprah Winfrey has also dissed Mayer because of her friendship with another one of his ex-girlfriends, Jennifer Aniston, whom he's spoken about in recent interviews. The report said Winfrey would not let Mayer use her show to make an apology.
Winfrey's public relations representatives at Harpo studios told ABCNews.com that there was no truth to that report.
John Mayer Breaks Down on Twitter, on Stage
Mayer would probably agree with his ex. Last Wednesday, he broke down on stage and on Twitter, apologizing for his inappropriate interview and vowing to stop his "shock jock" behavior.
"I quit the media game. I'm out. I'm done," a choked-up Mayer told the audience at Nashville, Tenn.'s Sommet Center Feb. 10. "I just want to play my guitar."
Earlier that day, Mayer took to Twitter to apologize for using the "n-word" while talking with Playboy. (In his interview, he also compared his penis to a white supremacist, because he doesn't think he "opens himself" to black women.)
"Re: using the 'N word' in an interview: I am sorry that I used the word," he wrote in the first of a series of tweets. "And it's such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it because I realize that there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged."
His stream of Twitter consciousness continued: "And while I'm using today for looking at myself under harsh light, I think it's time to stop trying to be so raw in interviews ... I wanted to be a blues guitar player. And a singer. And a songwriter. Not a shock jock. I don't have the stomach for it."
One of Mayer's followers, @adilla, responded: "Just waiting for @johncmayer to follow up his apology with an announcement that he's going to rehab. I mean, it kinda worked for Tiger, no?"
That's not what Mayer has in mind. He tweeted back: "They don't make rehab centers for being an a**hole."
While rehab may not be necessary, Mayer could certainly benefit from a filter. It seems he can't keep anything to himself. Along with dropping the n-bomb in his Playboy interview, Mayer talked extensively about his past girlfriends, namely, Jessica Simpson. Mayer, 32, compared Simpson, 29, to "crack cocaine" and the sex they had to "napalm."