Jessica Simpson's Recent Weight Gain

Recent photos of former pop star Jessica Simpson have tabloids and gossip sites buzzing. During Sunday's Kiss Country Chili Cookout in Florida, Jessica was captured looking tightly packed into her high-waisted jeans. Is this new image in support of her new country album? It seems she's finally living up to the Texas-girl, meat-and-potatoes image she has always talked about. However, this is certainly a departure from her former skinny frame.

For her 2005 film Dukes of Hazard Jessica slimmed down significantly. She had a trainer with her during filming to help keep her weight down and limited her calorie intake. It was impractical to try to maintain that body weight and after filming Jessica put around 10 lbs back on. Now the 28 year old singer has even more cushion for the pushin' at an estimated size 8.

Miley Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, Nick Lachey and other stars have all came out to defend Jessica's weight saying her curves are beautiful and womanly. Are they being sincere or just stroking Jessica's bruised ego? Jessica's sister, Ashlee, laughably claimed on her blog that Jessica is still a size 2. Either way, Jessica has the support of middle-America. Celebrity gossip sites have been flooded with comments supporting Jessica's extra pounds, as she is still smaller than the average American woman.

Will Jessica confidently embrace her weight or will she drop the pounds as soon as the tabloid burn sets in?