Jessica Simpson is encouraging Natalie Portman to think twice before she makes comments about other women.
In a statement posted to Instagram, the singer and clothing designer addressed the Oscar-winning actress’s recent comments about Simpson’s public image in 1999.
At the time, Simpson was a virgin, and was photographed for a magazine wearing a bikini — a dichotomy that Portman claimed not to understand.
“As public figures, we both know our image is not totally in our control at all times, and that the industry we work in often tries to define us and box us in. However, I was taught to be myself and honor the different ways all women express themselves, which is why I believed then — and I believe now — that being sexy in a bikini and being proud of my body are not synonymous with having sex,” Simpson wrote. “I have made it my practice to not shame other women for their choices. In this era of Time’s Up and all the great work you have done for women, I encourage you to do the same.”
Portman, who can be seen playing a singer in the new film, “Vox Lux,” told USA Today that when she was growing up, she loved Madonna, because she was “brazen and disobedient and provocative and trying to mess with people and always changing.” However, as the 1990s came to a close, pop stars’ images became hyper-sexualized, the 37-year-old actress added.
“I remember being a teenager, and there was Jessica Simpson on the cover of a magazine saying ‘I’m a virgin’ while wearing a bikini, and I was confused. Like, I don’t know what this is trying to tell me as a woman, as a girl,” Portman said.
Simpson, 38, however, also noted in her statement that she’s always “embraced being a role model,” and hoped to inspire people to be true to themselves.
“[Women] can look however they want, wear whatever they want and have sex or not have sex with whomever they want,” she wrote. “The power lies within us as individuals.”
(Excerpt) Read more @ abc news