Jessica Simpson held her own yesterday when she responded to remarks made about her weight and admitted that the comments had hit her hard. The singer, who married Eric Johnson in July, became a Weight Watchers spokesperson in 2011 but was subjected to a lot of post-baby scrutiny. “It wasn’t really my priority to please the public and make them feel like I’m supposed to be looking like I did when I was 25,” Simpson told Today. When she was then asked by Matt Lauer if she felt pressure to lose her baby weight because she had formerly been a “sex symbol”, she brushed this aside, suggesting that sexy does not necessarily mean skinny. “I don’t think that I wasn’t still a sex symbol (with the weight),” she said. “To my husband, I was still extremely sexy.” You go girl! “I’m not saying they (the comments) didn’t hurt. I have feelings and hormones. I got emotional about it at times, but if anything, I just kind of wanted to be a champion for other women and say ‘We can do this’.” Jessica, who is mother to 2-year-old daughter Maxwell and 14-month old son Ace, added that she is “empowered to rise above and stand up for all the women out there that do have trouble losing the weight.”