How shady is Rob Shuter? So shady that even Joe Simpson doesn't want to do business with him anymore. A well-placed source tells Radar Simpson fired Shuter as the publicist for his daughters Jessica and Ashlee earlier today. The axing comes after Shuter's attempt to turn a minor fling between Jessica Simpson and singer John Mayer into a publicity coup backfired in his face: After People and Us put the story on their covers, Mayer dropped hints it was a fabrication, and Jessica was left to disavow her "love" on The View. The incident put further strain on Shuter's already-vexed relationship with Jessica's label, Epic Records.

Compounding the blow, Shuter, who was forced out of Dan Klores Communications several months ago after getting busted for various shennanigans, has also lost his other main client, Insider host Lara Spencer, according to the source.

Reached by Radar, Joe Simpson hung up the phone, while Shuter said, "Hmmm...Let me call you back." We're waiting.