"I think accidents happen. I think that's the nature of live television," Michaels can be heard telling "60 Minutes" journalist Lesley Stahl in the clip.

In a follow-up interview that aired during the Oct. 31, 2004, episode of 60 Minutes, Michaels confirmed that he’d been unaware that Simpson intended to lip sync, but brushed off criticism. “Life goes on,” he said, “And the great part about Saturday Night Live is there’s always next week.”

Following her SNL performance, Simpson explained that she had been suffering from an acid reflux flare-up which had caused her to lose her voice at the time. The singer, now 39, reflected on the incident earlier this year during a February appearance on the Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen podcast.

A resurfaced unaired clip shows “Saturday Night Live” mastermind Lorne Michaels reacting to Ashlee Simpson’s infamous 2004 lip-sync disaster.