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THE STAR HITS BACK OVER CONSTANT CRITICISM ABOUT HER BODY

- Sara Tapia

The public’s fascination with Jessica Simpson’s weight has been well-documented, with criticism following the star from when she was at her thinnest to when she tipped the scales at 108kg during her difficult third pregnancy with daughter Birdie Mae. But after more than two decades in the spotlight, the 43-year-old singer is done with being body-shamed.

In a new interview, Simpson has spoken out against people who have criticised her weight and how she is determined to set a positive example, not just for other women, but for her own children. “I think that more than weight that people have focused on, we need to focus on our mentality about even talking about weight,” the singer-turned-actress explained to Access Hollywood. “I think it just doesn’t need to be a conversation.”

As her three children have grown older, Simpson admits that the interest in her body has even had an effect on them. She recalled a story about her eldest daughter Maxwell, 11, asking if she should be “insecure” about being the “tallest in her grade”.

“It’s very confusing to them because they’re like, ‘Well, I don’t even understand this, why don’t they just say you look pretty, Mum? You look pretty,’” Simpson said of her kids – including 10-year-old son Ace and 4-year-old Birdie – who she shares with her NFL star husband, Eric Johnson. “And I’m like, ‘Honey, I wish I could explain it.’ I wish I could say, ‘For me, it has gotten better but it still remains the same and I don’t know why but it’s OK.’”