Billy Corgan Dishes on Jessica Simpson Relationship

Billy Corgan is shedding new light on his relationship with Jessica Simpson, although he wants to refrain from putting a label on their rumored romance.

"If I go, 'Oh, we're just friends,' then it's like, 'Did they go out, did he dump her or she dump him, what happened?' " the rocker explains in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. "It has nothing to do with any of that. Sometimes people just like being around each other, and good things come out of that."



Corgan, 42, and Simpson, 29, first became the subject of dating rumors in December when they were photographed together in New York City. The unlikely pair grew close when they collaborated on the theme song for Simpson's new VH1 reality show, The Price of Beauty.

"My goal in life is to love whoever I think is worth loving, and I think if people knew her like I knew her, they would love her like I do. It’s really simple," Corgan says of Simpson.

Corgan was a little less loving when it came to discussing the Smashing Pumpkins' breakup.

"Rather than break up the band, what I should have done is chuck James [Iha] out," he tells the mag. "I should have just said to Jimmy [Chamberlin], 'You go to rehab, and we'll continue, and James, get the f--- out of here.' Instead, I fell on my sword for James, for what I thought was a friend."

As for his music critics, Corgan says he definitely deserves bigger praise.

"Do I belong in the conversation about the best artists in the world? My answer is yes, I do," he says. "I've been too productive for too long, and despite what anybody wants to strip away from me, I am influential. I am. So all the Pitchforks in the world can try to strip me of every ounce of dignity, but I belong."