It is reported that singer and actress Jessica Simpson has turned down an invitation to meet US President George W Bush.
Reuters reports that Simpson was invited to attend the National Republican Congressional Committee fund-raiser in Washington tonight, but declined amidst concern about politicising her favourite charity, Operation Smile.
Operation Smile is a non-profit organisation that offers free plastic surgery for children with facial deformities; Simpson is due in Washington today to lobby members of Congress on behalf of the charity.
Sources close to the singer said that although Simpson was offered private time with the US President at the fund-raiser, she declined because the charity is a non-partisan group.
One source told Reuters: "It just feels wrong. She would love to meet the President and talk about Operation Smile... but she can't do it at a fund-raiser for the Republican Party."
Commenting on Simpson's stance, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Carl Forti said: "It's never been a problem for Bono. I find it hard to believe she would pass up an opportunity to lobby the President on behalf of Operation Smile."
Simpson's publicists said she had never planned to attend the fund-raiser; Forti claimed the 25-year-old initially accepted the invitation on Tuesday, only to change her mind the next day.
