Being sexy in a bikini and being proud of your body are not synonymous with having sex says Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson has called out Natalie Portman in an open letter, saying she is 'disappointed' the actress 'shamed' her for posing in a bikini in a photo that was taken nearly two decades ago. 

Natalie, 37, plays a pop star in her upcoming film, Vox Lux, and while promoting the movie, she reflected on the singers she grew up with, recalling a photo she saw of Jessica, 38, when she was a teen. 

"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," Natalie told USA Today.  Just one day after the interview was published, Jessica took to Instagram and Twitter to share her powerful response, tagging Natalie in the post. 

"I was disappointed," wrote Jessica "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," she wrote. 

"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,' 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."

Link to story: https://bikininewsdaily.com/bnd/Beingsexyinabikiniandbei-12