Los Angeles, Feb 16 (IANS): Singer Jessica Simpson has spoken about being body-shamed after photos of her in high-waisted denim "mom jeans" at a music festival in 2009, went viral.

The 39-year-old told Stellar magazine that it was a difficult time and she was "heartbroken" by the response to the photos, reports dailymail.co.uk.

"I beat myself up over it. I was taking diet pills and pinching my fat until it bruised," she said.

"People were used to seeing me washing a car in a bikini as Daisy Duke in 'The Dukes Of Hazzard'," she recalled.

She went on to say that she has since changed and has "a lot of confidence in the woman I am today".

"The person I'm presenting to people (today) is very vulnerable and very raw, but I can take ownership over her," she said.

She recently released her autobiography, "Open Book", where she touched upon her relationships, struggle with substance abuse and childhood trauma.

There is also chapter in her memoir dedicated to her fat-shaming experience, titled: "Death by Mom Jeans".

Talking about the experience on a TV show, she explained that she was just a size four at the time.

"This picture that circulated and went worldwide broke my heart," she said while promoting her memoir.

"Not the picture necessarily, but the caption. Like, all the captions. I was taken down by the world," she said.