Jessica Simpson hits back at Natalie Portman

Jessica Simpson and Natalie Portman are in a messy online fight over a simple photo. Nobody saw this unlikely celebrity feud coming.

Jessica Simpson will wear a bikini wherever and whenever she wants, thank you very much.

On Wednesday, the 38-year-old pop star publicly responded to a quote Natalie Portman gave in a recent interview with USA Today.

“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,” the Vox Lux star, 37, told the outlet. “Like, I don’t know what this is trying to tell me as a woman, as a girl.”

The With You singer attempted to clear things up for her on Twitter, posting a photo that read:

“@Natalieportman — 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 honour 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.

Jessica Simpson hit back at Natalie Portman. Picture: Getty Images

“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 not to 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.”

A bikini-clad Simpson. Picture: Instagram

Portman responded to Simpson directly, commenting under her Instagram post:

“Thank you for your words. I completely agree with you that a woman should be allowed to dress however she likes and behave however she likes and not be judged. I only meant to say I was confused — as a girl coming of age in the public eye around the same time — by the media’s mixed messages about how girls and women were supposed to behave. I didn’t mean to shame you and I’m sorry for any hurt my words may have caused. I have nothing but respect for your talent and your voice that you use to encourage and empower women all over the globe.”

After the initial backlash, Portman also issued an apology via Entertainment Tonight, telling the outlet, “I would never intend to shame anybody and that was absolutely not my intention. I was really talking about mixed media messages out there for young women and completely apologise for any hurt it may have caused because that was definitely not my intention.”

She added, “What I said was I was confused by mixed messages when I was a young girl growing up, and there are a lot of messages for how women should be, and women should be allowed to do whatever they want. It is a mistake to say anyone’s name. I could have made my message without naming.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Celebrity snaps, Bach recaps and wardrobe mishaps — sign up for our entertainment newsletter here …