Christina Aguilera's ever-changing figure has been tabloid fodder for years, but the difference this time around is that the singer just doesn't care what her critics might say.
"The Voice" judge, who is set to release her new album "Lotus" in November, opened up to the Sept. 29 issue of Billboard magazine to set the record straight once and for all about her curves.
"I told (my label) during this 'Lotus' recording, 'You are working with a fat girl. Know it now and get over it,'" the "Your Body" singer told the magazine. "They need a reminder sometimes that I don't belong to them. It's my body.
"My body can't put anyone in jeopardy of not making money anymore - my body is just not on the table that way anymore."
The singer's bold statement comes after years of being scrutinized in the public eye and, she tells Billboard, being told to lose weight or risk her career.
"During the promotion of my album 'Stripped (in 2002), I got tired of being a skinny, white girl," she said. "I am Ecuadorian but people felt so safe passing me off as a skinny, blue-eyed white girl.
"The next time my label saw me, I was heavier, darker and full of piercings! Let me tell you, that wasn't an easy pill for them to swallow."
Aguilera, 31, admitted that she'd gained about 15 pounds during the "Stripped" tour, and her label was not happy.
"They called this serious emergency meeting about how there was a lot of backlash about my weight," she recalled. "Basically, they told me I would affect a lot of people if I gained weight - the production, musical directors."
"This album represents a celebration of the new me," she said, "and to me the lotus has always represented this unbreakable flower that withstands any harsh weather conditions in its surroundings, that withstands time and remains beautiful and strong throughout the years."
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
