Jessica Simpson is speaking out amid concern for her well-being.
The singer and fashion mogul’s Pottery Barn Kids ad went viral last week, not for her daughter Birdie’s cute room but because fans expressed worry in the comments over her speech and appearance. Simpson made another video addressing the “opinionated hate” and said she’s five years sober.
“As much as I have learned to block out destructive noise … peoples’ comments and judgements can still hurt deeply with their incessant nagging ‘you will never be good enough,'” she wrote. “The most important thing I have learned through the last 5 yrs without alcohol being a guard for escapism, is that I CAN and ALWAYS WILL get through it.”
Simpson said, “I feel compassion for the opinionated hate that some people can so effortlessly just blurt out with such intensity on social media or in the media in general. We all have our days of wanting to be, look, do, and feel better. Nobody is alone with that feelin’ that I can promise you.”
She said she woke up “anxious and insecure but also also angry and defensive.” So she connected to herself through song in her studio (singing: “I’m more than my body, I’m more than my wealth…”) and shared her raw performance.
Simpson — who called herself “stable and strong” — ended her post a “little advice” for her fans to follow their dreams and not give up on themselves. She said that has worked for her in her life in the spotlight.
“Nothin’ and nobody will rob me of my joy,” she concluded. “Ya might come close but it is mine to own. Yours should be too.”
Late last week, Simpson shared the advertisement and it was flooded with comments. Many seemed to express genuine concern for Simpson, noting she appeared “frail” amid her weight loss. Others wrote about her slurred speech.
The worry continues after the new video. One person wrote, “I just hope you’re ok.”
In January 2020, Simpson went public with her addiction to pills and alcohol. She said she had been “killing myself” drinking, beginning early each morning, before getting sober in 2017 after blacking at at her family Halloween party. She detailed her addiction in her memoir, Open Book, that year, including being drunk during an infamous Ellen DeGeneres Show appearance. She also wrote about body struggles, including undergoing tummy tucks (including a risky one) after having her first two children. Since giving birth to Birdie, her youngest with husband Eric Johnson, she has lost 100 pounds (for the third time), citing small, safe lifestyle changes.
Open Book is the inspiration for a new TV pilot that just wrapped starring John Stamos and Katelyn Tarver. Simpson shared a photo with the pair on set for the Amazon Freevee project, which is about a pop star (Tarver) and a fading singer-songwriter (Stamos). Simpson said the project, a reimagining of her own life story, was a “week of pure magic,” adding, “Going backwards in time of self discovery to 25 yrs old has moments of intense emotional vulnerability. Hot dang I knew next to nothin’ way back when, but I was ready for the discovery even inside my shyness and innocence.”
Simpson serves as executive producer on the TV project while also juggling running her billion dollar fashion empire, Jessica Simpson Lifestyle Brand, which she recently reacquired.
