Jessica Simpson's father, Joe Jackson, has refuted claims that his alleged homosexuality was the reason behind his 34-year marriage to Jessica's mother, Tina Simpson.

Joe - Jessica's manager - and Tina, kept their divorce relatively quiet at the time, although it later emerged that a court proceeding took place on September 24th. Rumours that papa Simpson's sexuality was at the root of the split soon began to emerge after a National Enquirer article reported that he had outed himself to the family. A spokesperson for the Simpson family has since released a statement on behalf of the family saying: "Tina and Joe Simpson have filed for divorce. It is an amicable split and there is no third party involved. Any other related allegations are completely false. The family appreciates your respect for their privacy at this time."

Joe, who has been the manager of daughters Jessica and Ashlee since their careers began, was arrested and charged with DUI in early August this year, to which he pleaded not guilty. His subsequent homosexual allegations have remained persistent regardless of the rebuttal on Wednesday (Oct 24) with certain websites reporting further revelations in favour of the rumours.