Jessica Simpson Took Diet Pills for 20 Years After Being Told to Lose Weight As a Teen
In her new memoir, Jessica Simpson opens up about taking diet pills for 20 years.
The singer said a music executive told her to lose weight following an audition.
Simpson says she also battled alcohol addiction following sexual abuse as a child.
Jessica Simpson is not holding back in her new memoir, Open Book. The 39-year-old singer just revealed that she took diet pills for 20 years after she was told to lose weight as a teenager, per People.
She says it all started after she auditioned for Tommy Mottola at Columbia Records on her 17th birthday. After belting “Amazing Grace,” the music executive offered her a contract, but under one condition: “You gotta lose 15 pounds. That’s what it will take to be Jessica Simpson,” he said.
Simpson, who weighed 118 pounds at the time, “immediately went on an extremely strict diet, and started taking diet pills,” which she would take for the next 20 years. “I started to hear voices when I was alone at night, waiting for the sleeping pill to kick in… Do more sit-ups, fat ass.”
The pressure only continued to grow as she became more successful in her career. “We all see our flaws, and mine were just there for the world to rip apart. They weren’t even flaws! They were made into flaws that I didn’t even know I had,” Simpson told People. “It’s insane what can make a headline.”
A post shared by Jessica Simpson (@jessicasimpson) on Jan 21, 2020 at 7:06am PST
The mother of three also revealed in her memoir that she suffered from sexual abuse as a child, which she kept to herself for years. Simpson developed anxiety from the trauma and began to self-medicate with alcohol and stimulants. “I was killing myself with all the drinking and pills,” she wrote.
In 2017, she had a wake-up call and immediately became sober. The star hasn’t had a sip of alcohol since. “When I finally said I needed help, it was like I was that little girl that found her calling again in life,” she told People. “I found direction and that was to walk straight ahead with no fear.”
Today, she uses exercise as a way to cope with stress. “When I work out, a lot of it is to release anxiety—that’s one of my tools for sobriety,” she told the outlet. “Just going walking and talking with my husband.”
“I just thank God that times are changing and people are standing up for themselves and not making it about body image,” she added. “I hope I can be part of that change and that my daughters will grow up in a world where they can accept themselves at any size.”
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