Jessica Simpson has been in the public eye for decades, and recently she’s been under a microscope of gossip with people speculating on her health. She lost a lot of weight, authored a very vulnerable book, and had some sponsored campaigns on social media that caused concerns for fans, and now she’s talking about it all.
In an interview with Bustle, Jessica hit back at the rumors about her weight.
Addressing some of the big headlines and rumors over the past year, Jessica denied using medication to achieve her drastic 100-pound weight loss.
"Oh, Lord. I mean, it is not [weight-loss medication]," she said, referring to how she lost weight. "It's willpower."
Jessica said her weight loss resulted from addressing her alcohol addiction.
"I'm like, do people want me to be drinking again?" she asked. "Because that's when I was heavier. Or do they want me to be having another baby? My body can't do it."
In late 2022, Jessica participated in a sponsored campaign for Pottery Barn on social media, which caused a lot of speculation over her health. People were concerned with how much weight she had lost, and some were saying she sounded under the influence of something, saying she was also slurring her speech.
That video caused fans to question if Jessica was OK.
Jessica told the digital magazine that "it hurts" to hear negativity from her fans, especially because she has been vocal about her decision to stop drinking alcohol in 2017 following her realization she had an addiction, which she addressed in her 2020 memoir Open Book.
In her memoir, Jessica admitted to going to extremes to lose weight when she was very young and starting her music career. "I immediately went on an extremely strict diet and started taking diet pills, which I would do for the next 20 years," she wrote in the book.
But she won't let anything stop her from reaching her goals.
"Am I going to let the negativity derail me? No, I'm too old for that," she shared with Bustle. "I am too connected to myself right now to let that derail me," she said. "It doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt."
Now she sees these fluctuations in her health and weight as a benefit — especially for business. Jessica said she's "fortunate to have been every size" because it helps her "brand, understanding the women (who buy our products), and for my psyche," she explained.
In her chat with the digital magazine, she also touched on her marriage with ex-Nick Lachey.
On TikTok, viewers have been watching her reality TV show on MTV, Newlyweds, and fans are seeing things that happened during the show in a whole new light.
New audiences are calling out the treatment of Jessica via social media. When Bustle asked what it's like to see more support than when the show first aired, she gave a "better-late-than-never shrug," according to Bustle.
"It's amazing what publicity can do," she said with subtle shade.
But she's still — more or less — the same person.
Jessica stood by her actions on the show, simply saying, "That's me."
"My power is in my vulnerability … I'm still that person," she shared, adding that she would still react the same today as she did back then.
"Honestly, if Eric told me I had to do all the laundry, I would still throw it over the banister and throw a hissy fit."
