Jessica Simpson says she’s heard of the explosive, unauthorized Framing Britney Spears documentary, but admits she doesn’t have the strength to watch it.
Appearing Friday on Tamron Hall‘s daytime talk show, the Open Book author revealed she hasn’t been able to bring herself to take it in, telling Hall that even thinking about the tell-all documentary gives her “anxiety.”
“It’s one of those things that, if I were to watch it, like, reliving that for me… it’s one of those… triggers,” the 40-year-old singer, actress and fashion mogul explained. “It definitely gives me anxiety and I lived it.”
Added Jessica, “I know what [Britney] went through and…it’s so hard, because it’s so many people’s opinions on you, just trying to live your life as a normal human being because, inside, we’re really just … we are normal, you know?”
“We might have a big platform but, you can only take stuff for so long, you can only allow people in and attacking you until you have to really put your guard up,” she noted.
Jessica rose to stardom around the same time as Britney Spears and she, Britney and Christina Aguilera were often lumped together. She was heavily scrutinized for her intelligence, weight, talent and relationships, all of which she discusses in detail in her memoir.
The documentary explains how the media ruthlessly attacked Britney, speculating that it may have contributed to her public mental breakdown in 2008.
As for Jessica, while the tabloids speculated that she, too, was on the verge of a mental breakdown following her 2005 divorce from Nick Lachey. She explains in Open Book that she began self-medicating with alcohol and pills during that time, but she’s been sober since 2017.
Open Book is now available in paperback.
By Megan Stone
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