We kinda believed the many Jessica Simpson-is-dating-X-celeb stories were publicity stunts cooked up by Papa Joe to divert attention from her soon-to-be box-office bomb.

There were inklings that the romance rumors rearing up could be a reaction to the Nick Lachey, Vanessa Minnillo soft-core snaps that were making headlines.

But…now there is a picture. Sure, it’s not ironclad proof of the reported canoodling at the Prince show, but it’s interesting. More interesting than Dane Cook’s "comedy" and definitely more interesting than Jess’s "acting" or even her attempts at "singing."

We’d been sitting on the rampant Jessica Simpson dating rumors this week. They just didn’t smell right.

If one believes all the stories showing up in newspapers and online, she’s a busy little thing. Maybe that 5 Factor Diet gives her extra energy, in addition to leaving her super cut and steely.

This week alone we’ve got stories swirling that Dane Cook and Jess were seen canoodling at the Prince concert at the Hollywood Roosevelt.

Later, reports surfaced that at that same purple concert, she was seen romantically accompanied trainer to the stars Harley Pasternak, who is responsible for the fitness program cited for Simpson’s rapid physical transformation.

Now…the buzz about Jake Gyllenhaal and Jess having mutual crushes on each other is building to a crescendo with reports that they’re already in love, and that she visited him at the Beverly Wilshire a couple weeks ago.

Next thing you know there will be pregnancy claims or pending adoptions. Whatever it takes to divert our attention from the stench coming from Simpson’s rotting movie, Bombed…oops… Blonde Ambition.

What we actually smell is a rat.

A publicity-hound rat.

Around here, we call that spotlight-seeking rodent Papa Joe.

Wonder what’s next. A surprise reunion with John Mayer. How about tales of a threesome with Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo?

Famous magazine has the first pictures from Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo’s hardcore and uncensored xxx sex romp in Mexico, but they are not the full set of pictures. Last week pictures came out of Nick and Vanessa running around naked in Mexico, and then word leaked that there were also hardcore sex pictures. Nick confirmed the existence of the sex pictures to OK! magazine, saying:

"Where’s the scandal? I was in Mexico with my girlfriend of a year, celebrating our anniversary on a private vacation. It’s not like I was caught with a Mexican hooker. We’ve all gone out and had a few too many and done something stupid. We’ve all made mistakes."

The pictures are from an angle that doesn’t show much, and yet there are more pictures showing them both fully nude. The rest of the pictures are coming soon.

“Where’s the scandal? I was in Mexico with my girlfriend of a year, celebrating our anniversary on a private vacation. It’s not like I was caught with a Mexican hooker. We’ve all gone out and had a few too many and done something stupid. We’ve all made mistakes.”

- Nick Lachey tells OK! magazine about being photographed having sex in public with naughty girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo.

Vanessa isn’t a Mexican hooker, she’s a Filipina.

TMZ says that pictures above, printed this week in Life and Style, are just the beginning of the racy photos that were taken last weekend as Vanessa Minnillo and Nick Lachey vacationed in Mexico, and other pictures actually show the two having sex in a hot tub. TMZ says:

…a lawyer for Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo is trying to keep photos of the couple having sex out of the weekly magazines and off the Internet.

TMZ has learned that the rest of the roll shows the two not only making out, but having hardcore sex in the hot tub. A source who has seen the photos tells TMZ that they are "Paris sex tape-level scandalous," and include images of the couple in several different sex positions.

Lachey’s lawyer is threatening to sue anyone who posts the racy x-rated photos. Vanessa isn’t that hot, and Lachey is getting kinda fat, so how hot and racy could the uncensored pictures really be anyway? I think I’d rather see the anime version where they both look totally hot, and I can choose multiple endings. If you want to see Vanessa’s nipples from a few years back click here.