Singer Jessica Simpson has addressed the career-long scrutiny she has faced about her weight, saying it “doesn’t need to be a conversation.”
In an interview with Access Hollywood, she said that since she has “been every size”, she has an insider’s perspective on what it’s like to for her body to be scrutinised.
In 2009, Simpson was “fat shamed” after photos of her performing in high-waisted jeans at a country music show circulated the internet.
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In a 2020 interview with Stellar, the singer said, “At the time I was heartbroken by the headlines, and of course I beat myself up over it. I was taking diet pills and I was pinching my fat until it was bruised.”
She said it hd affected her greatly, saying that it was not her weight, but “these demons in my head and the public, who I allowed to destroy my self-esteem.”
Now she says not much has changed.
“I wish I could say for me that it’s gotten better, but it still remains the same,” she said.
The 43-year-old called for a complete overhaul in the way weight is discussed.
“We need to focus on our mentality about even talking about weight,” she said.
“I think it just doesn’t need to be a conversation.”
On her mind in particular are her children – daughters Maxwell, 11, and Birdie, four, along with son Ace, 10, who she shares with husband Eric Johnson.
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The I Wanna Love You Forever singer says that her children “don’t understand” why their mother’s weight has been such a hot topic, adding that it has become “very confusing” for their own self image.
Simpson said Maxwell, who is the tallest in her grade, asked her mum, “should I be insecure?”
“I was like ‘the fact that you’re asking me if you should be insecure means absolutely not’,” Simpson said.
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“I tell my kids, ‘How you feel about yourself is how you should feel,'” she explained.
“You don’t dress for anybody else. You don’t try to look like anybody else.”