Christina Aguilera has a new interview with Billboard Magazine about her past success, and being told to lose weight by her record label producers.
She says, “During the promotion of my album Stripped[in 2002], I got tired of being a skinny, white girl. I am Ecuadorian but people felt so safe passing me off as a skinny, blue-eyed white girl. The next time my labelsaw me, I was heavier, darker and full of piercings! Let me tell you, that wasn’t an easy pill for them to swallow. I had gained about 15 pounds during promotion and during my Stripped tour [with Justin Timberlake, 31]. They called this serious emergency meeting about how there was a lot of backlash about my weight. Basically, they told me I would effect a lot of people if I gained weight — the production, musical directors. [They claimed] people I toured with would also miss out if I gained weight because I would sell no records or tickets for my shows. I was young, so I lost the weight quickly and was toothpick thin during Back to Basics promos and touring.”
She says that it’s different this time around because she’s told them her body is off limits. She says, “I told them during this Lotus recording, ‘You are working with a fat girl. Know it now and get over it.’ 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.”
Christina recently discussed her long-time music business rival, Britney Spears
