Fiona Apple On Weight Comments: ‘Please Stop Hurting My Feelings’

The singer, who has faced continuous criticism for being too thin ever since her she made her musical debut in 1998, is under scrutiny once again for her weight. An article published by Perez Hilton last week, titled “Fiona Apple Scares Us With Behavior! Experts Weigh In!,” voiced concern for Apple’s health and well-being. The popular blog also cited a nutritionist who claimed that Apple had recently lost at least 30lbs.

"She does look gaunt and pot is usually not the only culprit in that situation. It looks as if she is in a downward spiral and that may be causing her to be apathetic to how she appears,” Dr. Fred Pescatore told the gossip site.

Jessica Aronson, a psychotherapist, also corroborated the claims. "I would guess she is numbing herself from something -- most likely feelings. Being in the public eye and getting arrested for drug use brings attention to herself and highlights whatever difficulty she is going through. Her pictures certainly look alarming and concerning,” said Aronson.

And now Apple, who has already spoken out harshly against some anonymous people who made her jail stay unpleasant, has words for Perez Hilton.

At a concert Saturday night, in Clearwater, Fla., Apple said that she had gotten so caught up in the tabloid stories written about her since her arrest that she had been forced to give away her computer to avoid reading negative things.

“I'm trying to keep track of all the f--king things that are said, but I can't do it,” said Apple. "But Perez Hilton ... to hire 'experts' to comment and say that I am sick is totally, totally irresponsible and dangerous and you should know better, and so should everybody who's talking about me like that.”

“I'm not on any drugs,” added the singer. “I had some bourbon before I came out here. I've always been honest -- why would I be dishonest about anything?”

Apple went on to say that despite having been in the music industry for many years, she still takes negative press extremely personally. “I've been around for many years, but it hurts,” said Apple. “I'm f--king losing weight because I'm having trouble digesting food because your guts are connected to your brain and I have a lot of stress in my brain."After being released from custody in a West Texas Jail on Sept. 20, Apple gave a somewhat incoherent speech, telling an audience that some of the people she had met during her jail stay had engaged in inappropriate behavior. "Most of the people were very nice to me," Apple said, likely referring to members of the Sheriff’s Office. "There are four of you out there, and I want you to know that I heard everything you did. I wrote it all down with your names and everything you did and said stupidly thinking I couldn't hear or see you."

Apple ominously said she would keep the information to herself unless they wanted to become celebrities. But in a surprising turn, Rusty Fleming, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department, personally responded to Apple’s comments, saying she should “just shut up and sing.” 

Fleming released a statement, saying, "First, Honey, I'm already more famous than you, I don't need your help. However, it would appear that you need mine. Two weeks ago nobody in the country cared about what you had to say. Now that you've been arrested it appears your entire career has been jump-started. Don't worry, Sweetie, I won't bill you.”

Neither Apple nor her publicist have commented on Fleming’s statement.