Ashlee Simpson is reportedly having a hard time with some personal issues, and has been "downing drinks" in order to cope with them.
RadarOnline reports that in addition to dealing with her breakup from "Boardwalk Empire" star Vincent Piazza in November, the 28-year-old is having a rough time coming to terms with her parents' divorce, as well as rumors that her father and manager, Joe Simpson, is gay.
An eyewitness who spotted the "Pieces of Me" singer at the Pink Taco restaurant in Los Angeles told the website that Simpson was "downing drinks like there was no tomorrow," and "asked for a straight shot and added it to her already mixed cocktail."
Perhaps the singer was celebrating her return from New York where she hit up multiple Fashion Week shows, but the singer also has a history of drinking a bit too much. In 2005 Simpson was caught on camera, appearing belligerently drunk at a Toronto McDonalds, where she swore at an employee who told her to get off the service counter that she was trying to climb over.
Likewise, in 2011 Us Weekly reported that her split from then-husband Pete Wentz was in part sparked by her alleged drinking problem.
Simpson was "reverting to drinking and going out, because she is sick and tired of her life," a source told the magazine at the time, adding that the alcohol was "an outlet for her unhappiness, and Pete is getting fed up."
Star reported that following her divorce from Wentz, Simpson was "downing eight to 10 bottles of wine a week" and her older sister, Jessica, was "on a mission to save Ashlee from self-destructing." At the time, a source close to the Simpson family told Gossip Cop that the allegations of Ashlee's drinking problem were absolutely "not true."
Requests for comment made by The Huffington Post to Simpson's reps have not been returned at this time.