Natalie Portman Apologizes After Jessica Simpson Call

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Natalie Portman is following up on her original explanation of her comments about Jessica Simpson with a direct apology.

“Thank you for your words. I completely agree with you that a woman should be allowed to dress however she likes and behave however she likes and not be judged,” the actress, 37, commented on the singer’s Instagram post.

“I only meant to say I was confused — as a girl coming of age in the public eye around the same time — by the media’s mixed messages about how girls and women were supposed to behave. I didn’t mean to shame you and I’m sorry for any hurt my words may have caused. I have nothing but respect for your talent and your voice that you use to encourage and empower women all over the globe.”

The “Black Swan” star had previously tried to clarify her comments while talking to Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday.

Portman told ET, “I would never intend to shame anybody and that was absolutely not my intention. I was really talking about mixed media messages out there for young women and completely apologize for any hurt it may have caused because that was definitely not my intention.”

The social media back-and-forth comes after Portman said in a previous interview with USA Today that she was “confused” as a teenager by a photo of the “With You” singer in a sexy bikini, accompanied by an article saying she was a virgin. Simpson, 38, responded with an Instagram post, saying she was “disappointed” in the Time’s Up activist and explained that “being sexy in a bikini and being proud of my body are not synonymous with having sex.”