I have to give Jessica Simpson credit for her optimism and perseverance. She just keeps putting herself out there, even when she gets knocked down. Whether it’s her personal relationships, her career woes, or being attacked for her weight – whatever she goes through, Jess always gets right back on the horse and keeps on trying.

Us Weekly seems to be making some sort of dig at Jessica by titling a recent article, “Jessica Simpson Says She’s ‘Lucky in Love.’” This would obviously make a lot of people roll their eyes and think she’s a moron, since she’s had a lot of public love mishaps. But that isn’t what she said – their own article quotes her as saying, “‘The thing that makes us lucky is being in love.’” That’s very different. But apparently they needed to try to put a negative spin on a positive comment.

Jessica Simpson continued her tour in Salt Lake City, Utah, Thursday night. The 28-year-old showed off her curves in daisy dukes, and looked “fit, tanned and toned,” a witness told Usmagazine.com.

“I’m so lucky to be here,” Simpson told fans, adding that prayer had helped her sustain her confidence after she faced criticism for apparently packing on a few pounds. She also gushed about her beau, Tony Romo.

“The thing that makes us lucky is being in love…I did find that unexpected kind of love,” Simpson said, explaining that she developed a crush on Romo after watching him on ESPN.

The 45-minute set, at the EnergySolutions Arena, included hits “With You” and “Come on Over,” which she forgot the words to — again.”I always do that right there,” she said while laughing. “Sorry!” Simpson also spoke about a “complete butthead” ex — but declined to name names — before breaking into her song, “Remember That.”

[From Us Weekly]

I don’t think Jessica is any deep soul or anything, but she strikes me as a genuinely nice person and a hard worker. I’ve probably gotten overly protective of her since the whole weight scandal, but it seems like some magazines like Us are really going out of their way to twist things and frame her in a bad – or at least stupid – light. At times she can be sort of Pollyannaish in her statements about love. And that would probably be true in this case if Jessica had said what their title claimed. But just stating that love makes us lucky is a perfectly normal thing to say, especially for someone who’s got it.

Here’s Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo spotted leaving Da Silvano restaurant in downtown Manhattan on February 13, 2009. Images thanks to Pacific Coast News.

The frenzy over Jessica Simpson’s weight has died down a little, but that doesn’t mean people still aren’t trying to make a buck off it. A great example is FBE Holistic Health & Fitness in Los Angeles. They’ve offered Jess a lifetime free membership (valued at a ridiculous $21,000 a year). And their main doctor has had the audacity to already come up with a diet and exercise plan for Simpson – apropos of nothing.

Simpson, however, has declined the offer – and has a damn good reason for it. She’s happy and doesn’t feel the need to go to Madonna-esq dieting extremes.

It’s no secret that Jessica Simpson ’s weight has gone up and down considerably over the years, but now the starlet has no excuse for any more fluctuations. The songstress was offered a lifetime membership (complete with personal consultations with doctors and trainers) to L.A.’s swanky star-studded FBE Holistic Health & Fitness, valued at a cool $21,600 per year.

The center’s in-house doctor, Ken Best, already designed a program for Jessica which involves limiting “inflammatory” foods such as bread, gluten, cheese and alcohol and a strict ratio of protein to carbs that he says will enable her to shed around 10 lbs. in the first 10 days. She was also offered an unlimited run of detoxing equipment like the Infrared Sauna and Air Therapy Machine and was advised by Best to take a leaf out of Madonna’s buff-bod book and get on the Whole Body Vibration Machine (we hear Madge has the pricey little device in her private home.)

However, Jessica declined the offer, and according to insiders, Miss Simpson’s body change is just an sign that she’s content and in love. “Jessica has been spending a lot of time in Texas so her eating habits have changed,” said our source. “And with Tony on hiatus, they’ve been eating out more and just enjoying life together.”

“When she has a guy, Jessica just seems to accept herself and stops obsessing over her body,” added the insider.

[From Fox News’ Pop Tarts]

I think Jessica should accept herself and not obsess over her body regardless of her dating life. But I’m glad she doesn’t feel pressured to take this doctor up on his offer. Seriously, if you equate any health or fitness concept to something Madonna does, no one in their right mind would want to be linked to it. But that Infrared Sauna and Air Therapy Machine sure sounds extreme enough for me to believe Madge owns one. It’s clear the “spa” is just trying to profit off of Jessica’s weight-based notoriety. She’s handled the whole thing with aplomb – unfortunately the same can’t be said for a lot of other people.

Not that a diet restricting bread, gluten, cheese and alcohol that makes you lose 10 pounds in 10 days sounds like something you couldn’t stick with in the long run or anything… but good for Jessica for saying no thanks.

Here’s Jessica Simpson arriving at LAX with several Louis Vuitton bags on Sunday. Images thanks to Bauer-Griffin.

Jessica Simpson has handled her whole “weight gain” controversy very gracefully. Though she has seemed to suffer from some performance anxiety (and who can blame her when she’s being scrutinized like this?), she’s never fired off with any snotty comments or even directly addressed the issue. And she doesn’t need to – it’s not like she owes anyone an explanation for her body. In fact Jess actually joked about it in a vague way while performing at Madison Square Garden last night. She mentioned that her pants have split more than once while onstage – which seems to have affected her wardrobe choices.

Jessica Simpson’s biggest concern about her performance Thursday at NYC’s Madison Square Garden? Her outfit.

“I’ve had times when my pants split right down the middle when I bent down to reach a note,” the singer told fans, laughing. “That’s why I’m wearing a skort – not a skirt, not a short – just so they wouldn’t split.”

Although Simpson has struggled at some shows on her current tour, she seemed to be in good spirits, as she performed a 35-minute set before Rascal Flatts got on stage, New York’s Newsday reports. The paper reports she “confidently rolled out her new single ‘Pray Out Loud’ and her self-esteem anthem ‘Remember That.’”

Simpson made her first live TV appearance since her much-scrutinized weight gain on Wednesday, performing her song “Pray Out Loud” on CBS’ The Early Show. She danced around the weight issue. “Honestly, I am right where I’m supposed to be. I am so happy,” Simpson said. “Everything’s really great.”

[From Us Weekly]

Maybe the possibility of splitting pants explains Simpsons’ unfortunate denim choice in those infamous photographs? If nothing else, they sure look sturdy in the crotch. It’d take a whole lot to split them. I can imagine few things as mortifying as your pants ripping apart in front of a whole audience of people. But I’d probably be more likely to alter my movements than to change my wardrobe if I were in Jessica’s position.

All this publicity – which could very easily be seen as negative – may actually be a positive for Simpson. Not only because she’s handled it with aplomb, but simply because everyone’s talking about her, and she’s about to release a new clothing line that will “flatter every figure,” according to Simpson.

The only expanding Jessica Simpson is doing these days is to her resume.

Two weeks after enduring scrutiny for her weight gain, the singer announced she has designed a fashion line to clothe women of all shapes and sizes. “I want to create clothes that flatter every figure,” Simpson told the March issue of In Style. “I know how a dress can make you feel so frumpy. I promise mine won’t.”

The as-yet-untitled collection is the latest venture for Simpson, who’s also launched a successful shoe line. With the range in styles, the 28-year-old hopes every woman will be able to find something to her liking. “I know what flatters a woman, and trust me, I’ve been judged a lot in my life. By now I know what works if you’re curvy,” she said. “If my clothing and accessories make you feel great and let you walk proud and tall — in big, big platform shoes — then I’m happy.”

Simpson has not publicly responded to the criticism, but did thank fans for their support. “I feel like in our world today we focus on so many things that are completely pointless… Stay positive, and pray out loud! I love you guys,” she said at a recent concert.

[From the Seattle P.I.]

Some of her comments are a little ironic, given how unattractive her recent clothing options have been. But she has gotten a ton of press and people are paying more attention to her than ever, so it may likely end up working to her advantage.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Simpson’s boot collection. A lot of them are really nice looking. I find most of her bags to be a bit too big and chunky, but they’re still much more stylish than anything I’d hoped for from her.

I wonder what sizes her new clothing line will cover? It’d be nice if she had a full line of regular and plus sizes, since she made that statement about flattering “every figure.” Considering all the crap she gets, I think Jessica has shown a lot of maturity and class in rising above all the negativity.

Here’s Jessica performing at Madison Square Garden last night. Images thanks to Splash.

When Jessica Simpson got all that attention – and all those magazine covers – after her minor weight gain there were rumors that it was all an elaborate scheme by her dad, Joe Simpson, to get some sympathetic PR for his daughter. It all sounded a little too cynical to me, and it just looked like a case of someone who understandably gained a little weight. It happens to most of us at some point, we just don’t have people speculating about it in the media. Jessica looks great and not overweight by any means, but people are used to seeing her look tiny and are going to notice the difference, especially when she wears unflattering clothing.

Now Simpson has landed herself another magazine cover, which is no small feat given the state of her singing career crossover. She is featured on OK! Magazine with the details of her planned “revenge diet.” The controversy probably wasn’t some big plan by her dad, but it still got her plenty of publicity:

During the hubbub over Jessica’s figure, Tony has been unstintingly supportive of his diminutive sweetheart.

“She’s gone up a size in jeans, and Tony could care less,” a friend tells OK!. “He isn’t interested in some idiot Hollywood bimbo with an eating disorder.”

After Jess makes it through the stress of the tour, which ends March 14, friends say the extra weight will disappear too.

“She eats her feelings — it’s hard having people criticizing your every move and ridiculing you on blogs,” one close friend tells OK!. “Once Jessica stops touring [next month], she’ll calm her nerves and the weight will hopefully fall off.”

In addition, Jess will need to cut back on her favorite finger foods like chips and guacamole and make a few substitutions, as well as falling back into a fitness routine.

“She’d much rather gossip with her girlfriends than hit the treadmill, so I know she needs to get a workout buddy to run with her,” her friend reveals.

Now who might that be? Says the friend, “Tony would do it in a heartbeat!”

[From OK! Magazine]

From the way OK! words this, it doesn’t sound like Simpson had any input into this story and they might be trying to run another one of those “diet” covers. It’s pretty funny that they call it a “revenge” diet and include a photo of Simpson’s rival, Carrie Underwood, right next to her. OK!’s last cover, Angelina’s “Baby Diet,” didn’t sell that well according to MSNBC’s The Scoop. It supposedly wasn’t clear to readers if Angelina or the babies were going on a diet. Maybe OK! should steer clear of these diet covers for a little while.

Interestingly enough, Cover Awards predicated earlier this week that someone would run a “Jessica Simpson Diet” cover.

Simpson isn’t letting this incident get her down. She’s expanding her bag and shoe line to include clothing. (link has automatic video.) She tells In Style, “I want to create clothes that flatter every figure.”

Things seem to be getting worse instead of better for Jessica Simpson. Over the last few weeks she’s been embroiled in a weight gain scandal. As in, she had the nerve not to be skeletal. While she seemed to be doing her best to stay positive in the beginning, it appears that the stress is taking a toll on her. According to Radar, Jess had a bit of a meltdown during her concert last night. She was opening up for Rascal Flatts in Grand Rapids, and was struggling, upset, and a bit unprofessional through most of her set.

Jessica Simpson, who’s been getting flak for gaining weight, really does appear to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. Simpson had a near meltdown Thursday as she opened for Rascal Flatts in Grand Rapids Michigan. The singer fought back tears, forgot the words to lyrics and mumbled her way through a bizarre 38-minute set of songs.

Almost from the opening song of “These Boots are Made for Walking,” Simpson fought with her ear monitors, constantly trying to keep them in place, suggesting she was having difficulty hearing herself. At one point, she had her seven-piece band stop, then start over, during the up-tempo “Pray Out Loud.” After that, she forgot the lyrics to her single “Come on Over,” causing her to apologize to the audience.

Things got so bad that, while introducing her closing song, “Do You Know,” the singer said there have been times when she felt like walking off the stage — “like tonight.” At the end of the song, she thanked her band for “having her back.” And it looked as if she was wiping away tears as she walked off the stage.

So what caused Jessica’s meltdown? It probably didn’t help that boyfriend Tony Romo missed his flight to Grand Rapids.

[From Radar]

Jessica’s record label said that she wasn’t feeling well and blew her voice out and that’s why she was upset during the show. A Grand Rapids radio station was having people who were in the audience call in and talk about the concert. One caller said she thought Simpson was drunk. Several noted that she kept drinking from a water bottle throughout the night. It could have been alcohol, but it could have just as easily been water – which would be explained by vocal troubles. But lots of the callers seemed to think Jessica was being judged too harshly.

Everyone can have an off night, but the flip side of that argument is that people pay a lot of money to go to concerts – and in tough economic times, that’s a big deal. I’d guess that a luxury like that is probably a rare occasion for most of the audience, so it makes sense people would be annoyed. Overall, it was unprofessional at worst, but understandable.

Here’s Jessica Simpson performing in Charleston, West Virginia on February 1st. Images thanks to Splash.

President Obama’s ego might be a little bruised. Why? Well it seems he’s not as important as Jessica Simpson – or rather, Jessica Simpson’s weight. That’s right – according to US Weekly, Jessica’s slightly expanding frame is of more interest to readers than seeing their new president’s face. The cover of the magazine features the Obama family, with a cute picture of First Lady Michelle Obama, along with daughters Sasha and Malia. Where is the president? Well his face has been pasted over with an image of Simpson performing in an unflattering outfit last week.

The president was obviously a good sport about it, though from his rather dry tone he did seem to appreciate the ridiculousness of US’ decision.

President Barack Obama joked that he was crushed to be cut from the cover of Us Weekly to make room for Jessica Simpson’s controversial curves. (Watch the video above.)

“Yeah, it’s a little hurtful,” he quipped when Matt Lauer showed him the newest issue of Us Weekly, on stands now, featuring a portrait of his family. (Obama is featured in the picture that runs next to the story — which focuses on Michelle — inside the magazine.)

“You got replaced by Jessica Simpson!” added Lauer, who sat down with Obama before the Super Bowl aired Sunday on NBC.

“Who’s in a weight battle, apparently. Oh well!” Obama said.

[From Us Weekly]

A few websites have mistakenly used the headline, “Obama calls Jessica Simpson fat.” Excellent job not paying attention. He was saying it related to Us Weekly’s story (they talked about her weight issues), not actually calling her fat.

There is one rather large consolation for President Obama. As Kaiser noted, he’ll be on the cover of Vanity Fair next month. One Vanity Fair is worth about a hundred US Weeklies. Not that Obama seemed broken up about the past job. But what a stupid choice on US’ part.

Rarely do I defend Jessica Simpson, but the controversy over her weight gain is way out of proportion. And though I never thought I’d use the word “classy” to describe her, that’s exactly what she’s been. Simpson would have been perfectly in line if she’d yelled and screamed and railed at the press for making such a big deal about what I’m guessing is maybe 10 pounds. But instead she kept quiet and just went about her business.

Last night Jessica performed for the first time since the supposed “fat” photos were leaked. While she didn’t address them directly, she talked about staying positive and reminding yourself there’s bigger issues out there.

Jessica Simpson made no mention of her controversial new curves at a concert Thursday night in Virginia, but she thanked fans for standing by her.

Clad in black leather pants, a hip-length black blazer and silver go-go heels, Simpson, 28, hit the stage promptly at 8:01 p.m. and performed a 40-minute set, opening with “These Boots” before introducing the tune, “Still Beautiful.”

“This song is off my new record… and it’s about finding the beauty in life, no matter what happens,” she told the audience at the University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena, where she performed with Rascal Flatts. Simpson later added, “Always remember that someone out there has it worse than you.”

And prior to singing “Pray Out Loud,” she told the audience, “I feel like in our world, we focus on so many things that are unimportant. And I really just wanted to say this.”

Throughout the show, Simpson — who struggled all night with her ear piece — was upbeat. Before leaving the stage, Simpson told fans, “Stay positive, pray out loud, give it up for my band … I love you guys. Good night!”

[From Us Weekly]

Jessica normally talks about passing gas and her love life during her concert chit chat, so what she said was a step up no matter what. But she certainly could have used last night as an opportunity to respond to the haters, but instead she took the high road. Jessica may be a lot of things – not all of them necessarily good – but she’s always struck me as a fundamentally nice person.

Most of us go through times when we put on some weight, for whatever reason. My body likes to add an unnecessary 7 pounds every winter, apparently thinking I’m part bear. It always goes away early in the spring once I’m out and about more. Jessica may very well be the same.

And while her outfit didn’t help any, I think the biggest issue was the unflattering camera angle while she was performing. No one looks good when shot from below. I’m not saying the camera was solely responsible, but it definitely didn’t help. I don’t know how celebrities manage to deal with so much body criticism, but publicly Jessica has handled it with grace.

Here’s Jessica Simpson performing at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia last night. Images thanks to Splash.

Jessica Simpson has been tangled up in a $10 million lawsuit for over a year. She was paid $1 million by Speedfit, a workout company, to promote their exercise system. However Jess showed up to the shoot drunk (according to MSNBC), and Joe Simpson has done everything he could to make the video go away, including preventing its release. Now Speedfit owner Alex Astilean says Jessica’s recent weight gain is karma, as a result of Simpson pulling out of her contract and dragging out the lawsuit.

An exercise video featuring Jessica Simpson and produced by workout company Speedfit was leaked to the Internet Jan. 27 by Speedfit owner Alex Astilean. The video’s since been taken off YouTube, and Astilean is seething.

“This is a vendetta between me and (Jessica’s father) Joe Simpson,” Astilean said.

In 2007, Astilean sued Jessica Simpson for $10 million after she prevented the release of the video. Astilean says he paid Simpson a million dollars for her participation, and that she injured “millions of fat people” by not allowing its release.

The case has lingered on so long, Astilean says he can no longer afford an attorney and will have to represent himself.

“I have a conference call with the judge on Feb. 5 and I will have to tell the judge that my house is being foreclosed on, I cannot afford an attorney,” says Astilean. “But look at the pictures of her — karma has hunted Jessica to the ground and she knows it.”

[From MSNBC]

I don’t think weight gain is necessarily karma, but I do think this story shows just how unfair and manipulative Joe Simpson is. Jessica definitely came across as a moron in the little snippets of the Speedfit video, but not more than usual. And if she came to work drunk, that was her own fault. She also pocketed the $1 million, even though Joe Simpson has prevented the tape from being released. How unfair is that?

Here’s Jessica Simpson performing at the 99.9 KISS 24th Annual Chili Cook Off inPembroke Pines, Florida on Sunday. Images thanks to WENN.

This just isn’t Jessica Simpson’s week. First, those pictures appeared of a slightly bigger Jessica singing at a chili cook-off. Then, the endless back-and-forth about what the weight gain means, what does Tony think, is the whole thing terribly sexist, et cetera. As Celebitchy pointed out, very few people would have noticed the weight gain if Jessica had dressed better. Instead, she jammed herself into too-tight clothing that made her look like a packed sausage. But it still doesn’t mean it was a good career move to sing at a chili cook-off.

But now the final blow to Jessica’s self-esteem. Star magazine is reporting that while Jessica was traveling (to a chili cook-off?), Tony Romo threw a huge party at her house and hooked up with some random girl in Jessica’s bed. I buy that Romo threw a party at Jessica’s house while she was away – he seems like that kind of guy. But I’m not sure I buy the cheating part of the story.

While Jessica Simpson was away, Tony Romo certainly did play!

In the Feb. 9 issue of Star — on sale now — we exclusively report that just hours after Jess flew out of Burbank airport on Jan. 16, her boyfriend decided to host a party — at her house! And if that wasn’t bad enough, the hunky quarterback hooked up with a beautiful brunette.

The very night Jessica left town, Tony hit an invitation-only opening of Los Angeles hot-spot My House with a posse that included Laguna Beach’s Stephen Colletti and Entourage star Kevin Connolly. To keep the fun going, he invited a group of revelers “back to my place,” the onlooker tells Star. But when people arrived at the two-story country cottage-style home off Coldwater Canyon in Beverly Hills, it soon became obvious that “his place” belonged to his unsuspecting — and absent — girlfriend, Jessica.

Amid Jessica’s gold albums, the party raged on downstairs. But on the second floor, Tony was enjoying his own private party — with a long haired, olive-skinned cutie.

“Everyone was talking about it downstairs,” dishes the source. “The girls were saying it was so wrong and shady of Tony to cheat on Jessica — especially in her place! I just can’t believe he would hook up with another woman at his own girlfriend’s house.”

For all the details about the cheating scandal — including how it all went down as well as how he was laughing about it with friends — pick up the new Star today.

From Star magazine

Laguna Beach’s Stephen Colletti and Entourage star Kevin Connolly? Not to criticize, but Tony sure hangs out with the C-listers, doesn’t he? And those are exactly the kind of people who will come to a party at an absent girlfriend’s house, drink all of the beer, then complain to Star magazine that you’re hooking up with some girl.

Another reason I don’t believe this – I believe in my heart of hearts that Tony has a thing for blondes. I don’t see a proud Texan like Tony hooking up with a brunette. It would be a slap in the face to The Lone Star State. Still, Jessica should watch her back.

Header image thanks to popbytes.

Jessica Simpson had people talking earlier this week when photos came out of her looking like she’d recently put on weight. Jessica’s minor weight gain wouldn’t have been so obvious if it wasn’t for the the incredibly unflattering outfit she was wearing. She’s a beautiful woman with a normal, sexy figure but she chose to wear a tight blank tank top, a bizarre stacked leopard print belt with gold buckles and tight high-waisted jeans that emphasized every pound.

Commenter brianne pointed out that it looked like Jessica was “dressing with the mindset that she’s still superthin,” with an outfit that would have looked fug on anyone.

Jessica’s younger sister, Ashlee, and her former trainer, 5 Factor Diet author Harley Pasternak, have spoken out against the media’s focus on Jessica’s figure. Ashlee got indignant and was surprised that people even talked about it while Pasternak said that Jessica looks great.

“She has curves where a woman needs to have curves. We all go a little bit up and a little bit down. But she’s healthy,” Pasternak tells Extra…

But Pasternak says “she’s still sexy. She’s still a beautiful woman. And I have no problem with the way she looks.”

Adds the trainer, “I think if more people looked the way she looks now, the country would be a lot healthier.”

[From US Magazine]

Pasternak is absolutely right and Simpson looks beautiful, notwithstanding the outfit, and is by no means overweight. It’s nice to see a celebrity who isn’t starved to some warped ideal of perfection. Now if only Jessica could learn to dress well, and could quit oversharing, she’d be all set.

Ashlee Simpson didn’t handle the criticism of her sister’s weight as well, and that’s understandable. She sounds like she’s been ignoring all the tabloids that her family has been courting for the past ten years, though, and considers it some great injustice that her sister’s weight is even mentioned. She blogged that she was “disgusted” by the coverage and said that we would never say the things that were written in the press about her sister to the women in our lives:

Since when did a woman’s weight become newsworthy…

I am completely disgusted by the headlines concerning my sister’s weight. A week after the inauguration and with such a feeling of hope in the air for our country, I find it completely embarrassing and belittling to all women to read about a woman’s weight or figure as a headline on Fox News.

All women come in different shapes, sizes, and forms and just because you’re a celebrity, there shouldn’t be a different standard.

Is this something you would say to your wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, or even a friend?

I seriously doubt it.

How can we expect teenage girls to love and respect themselves in an environment where we criticize a size 2 figure?

Now can we focus on the things that really matter.

[From Ashlee Simpson's blog via People]

Ashlee made the same argument that Jennifer Love Hewitt did and made a reference to a size 2 while trying to address criticism of small sizes in general, not her sister’s particular size. She’s right and it sends a very negative message to young girls especially when we focus on celebrities’ weight. Jessica Simpson appeared on several magazine covers in her Daisy Dukes when she got super fit for her “Dukes of Hazzard” role in 2005. Her diet and exercise plan were featured all over the press and she encouraged it. Now that she’s gone the other way, the press is going to point it out. They don’t need to be nasty about it, though.

Jessica Simpson has issued a statement, that “Going from a size 2 to a size 8, that’s not fat. If I weren’t Jessica Simpson, no one would care.” That’s true, and many people don’t care anyway.

Photo credit: WENN