Jessica Simpson urged Natalie Portman to "not shame other women" after the actress said she was "confused" as a teenager when she saw Jessica in a bikini and claiming she was a virgin.
The 37-year-old actress made the comments in an interview with USA Today earlier this week when she said she has struggled with the contrast seen in the music industry and what it was trying to tell its audience.
She said: "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."
In response, 38-year-old singer Jessica took to Twitter to say she was "disappointed" by Natalie’s comments, insisted being confident in her own skin is "not synonymous with having sex".
Jessica wrote in the lengthy note: "I was disappointed this morning when I read that I ‘confused’ you by wearing a bikini in a published photo taken of me when I was still a virgin in 1999. 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."
The ‘With You’ singer went on to ask the ‘Vox Lux’ actress to stop "shaming" women "for their choices".
She continued: "I have always embraced being a role model to all women to let them know that they can look however they want, wear whatever they want and have sex or not have sex with whomever they want. The power lies within us as individuals.
"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."
Jessica Simpson urges Natalie Portman to ‘not shame other women’
