Jessica Simpson Is ‘Proud’ Of Her Weight Loss Journey, Says Criticism ‘Broke My Heart’

by TK Sanders October 3, 2022, 9:05 pmupdated October 3, 2022, 9:07 pm 121 Views 197 Comments

Actress and singer Jessica Simpson recently spoke out against “hurt[ful]” comments regarding her body and weight over the years.

“I’ve been criticized, and it hurts, but I’ve been every weight and I’ve been proud of it,” Simpson, 42, told Extra last week. “I decided, ‘OK, everybody is going to talk about my weight all the time, I might as well make money off of it and turn it into a business of selling clothes and acceptance.’”

She said she never gets used to hearing criticism about her body, but also noted that another very famous sex symbol warned her of the stakes years ago during her rise in Hollywood.

“Would any woman [get used to criticism]?” Simpson asked rhetorically. “But Lynda Carter warned me on the set of Dukes of Hazzard. She was like, ‘I will always be Wonder Woman and compared to Wonder Woman, and that’s what you’re doing here as Daisy Duke. Just know the words ‘Daisy Duke’ will follow you for the rest of your career.’”

Much of the personal turmoil began in 2009 during the early days of social media after Simpson performed at a radio event, and pictures of her went viral. In the pictures, Simpson had clearly gained weight as compared to her tiny frame and large breasts on Dukes; but she was still very much in shape by all standards — except social media’s apparently.

“That picture that circulated and went worldwide broke my heart. Not the picture necessarily, but the caption. Like, all the captions. It was just viral,” Simpson said, noting that she was criticized over her body despite wearing size 4 jeans. “I was taken down by the world.”

Jessica Simpson posted a sexy bikini shot in April to celebrate her weight loss journey

Simpson is mom to daughters Maxwell, 10, and Birdie, 3, and son Ace, 9, with husband Eric Johnson. She’s been candid about her weight loss journey through the years, admitting to even working with a nutritionist to get her “eating habits right” a few years ago.

“I absolutely feel healthy, like my old self before I had children and all the hormones going wild,” Simpson laughed. “I feel younger, actually, and I have a lot more energy and yeah, I get to wear all the clothes that are in storage that I saved for Maxwell and Birdie. Maybe Birdie will outgrow them because Maxwell has already outgrown me!”

The Texas native revealed earlier this year on Instagram that she has gained and lost 100 pounds three different times in her life. In April, she posted a bikini pic that she said made her “proud.”

“I think it’s about setting small goals for yourself, and then eventually, the impossible is possible,” she said. “I was so proud of myself [for my social media post] and I was proud of the resilience no matter what people say.

“But I was really proud [of myself]. So I was like, ‘Here I go, I’m doing it.’ … My babies are worth the weight gain. I’m just the type of person that gains a lot of weight [while] pregnant, but I’ve struggled [with it] my whole life, like, because of what, to me, was perfect or what I didn’t have. And I really feel [that once] people started [to] embrace me at a bigger size, it made me very confident. It made me feel like everybody deserves to be praised at every size.”