Jessica Simpson, still sporting remnants of the weight gain that generated headlines months back, was a featured celebrity attendant at the annual Operation Smile Gala this week. Joined by Poppy Montgomery and Roselyn Sanchez, Simpson appeared in support of the non-profit dedicated to providing reparative surgery and outreach for babies born with cleft lips and palates.
Meanwhile, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger rocked a sexy outfit as she performed in Las Vegas with guitarist Slash.
Mariah Carey’s performance on NBC’s Today Show was much less racy (though, like Jessica Simpson, she’s not in the shape she once was).
Brian, you should be ashamed of yourself. As much as there is so much image awareness being promoted in this day and age to curtail a dysfunctional obesession with the frail thin Hollywood facade, you start your article with “sporting the remnants”? Jessica Simpson looks delicious as is! Instead of celebrating her and Mariah, you seem fixated on some thin image they had. Snap out of it and quit perpetuating the “every-girl-must-be-frail-thin” definition of beauty!!
I do not agree with everything you wrote regarding my (and the larger media’s) attitude on celebrity weight gain and perpeutation of a stick-thin female image. Nonetheless, we’re never going to agree on that front, so arguing would be beating a dead horse.
What I will say is that while there is obviously a gratuitous element to posting pictures of attractive women on the website, we do try to take it a little more seriously than that. We almost always rank near the top of Google and Google News for these posts, so when people look up women like Jessica Simpson and whoever else we feature, we’re usually where they first end up.
Because of that, there is more than just a “look how hot she is” element to our posts. Part of it is to let readers know what these celebrities are up to and what they look like. As Jessica Simpson generated more buzz for her weight gain than she did for her last album, it is, in my humble opinion as a content editor, necessary to enter that discussion when featuring recent pictures of the singer/actress. You may not agree that it makes her unattractive or is even that important (and granted, I never said it was either), but as people looking for Jessica Simpson gossip are going to be interested in such a scoop, it’s my duty to provide it.
Moreover, our Google visibility has made us something of a starmaker for attractive women. While I obviously don’t believe we deserve credit for “making” talented, beautiful actresses and musicians, we have been responsible for generating serious buzz for up-and-comers. Jessica Lowndes, for instance, has been on shows like “Greek” and “90210” yet only truly began taking off as an Internet sensation when Headline Planet started featuring her. We’ve done similar things with women like Katie Cassidy. In doing that, I have come to greatly appreciate the value our endorsement comes regarding what people think is attractive in Hollywood. Conscious of that effect, I do my best to offer real commentary in making these posts.
I hope Jessica Simpson has found her true love this time with Jeremy Renner. She deserves to have a fresh guy in her life.