i’m not here to argue, but you said that you’ve never heard of her giving to charity before, but she’s been all over the news in the past because she is an international youth ambassador for Operation Smile, which is a nonprofit medical charity that repairs facial deformities for third-world children. she even lobbied congress for it. also, she was in the news a few months back because she gave a minivan to an orphanage in mexico. so she is doing something.

i’m really pretty indifferent when it comes to jessica because i don’t know her personally, but i just thought i would clear that up.

and i don’t think julie was saying that she doesn’t believe in charity. i know she said a lot, but i think you missed the real point of what she was getting at. and please don’t think i’m insulting you because i’m not in any way.

and julie,

good point. as the saying goes “people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”

don’t be so quick to judge everybody.

Who exactly have you seen Jessica give charity to??…I’ve never heard of Jessica Simpson giving money to charity and you shouldn’t be so sure of yourself that she does….she doesn’t seem very giving….

And Julie,

It’s not that I expect a lot from celebrities, but the fact that they make millions of dollars a year should be put into consideration…. I understand that it is their money and they spend it how they want…BUT I think it is extremely SELFISH of them to throw that money away on t-shirts they’re going to wear twice in their life..when children are dying of hunger or lack of clothing and shelter around the world….I think EVERYONE…not only celebrities…should give to charity…it should be our duty as Americans and human beings…and if you don’t agree with that, then that’s just sad….

And For your information…I DO give to charity…

Also, on other “celeb shopping” posts, people will talk about how expensive things are, but why is it when it’s Jessica Simpson, people feel the need to be exceptionally nasty?

The truth is, I’m upset about how much people spend too. But I’m not limiting it to Jessica Simpson — I’m talking about people in general. $400 is a tiny portion of her income, and she probably feels like she does lots of benevolent things and gets to spend the rest living her life. A LOT of Americans feel this way; maybe even you.

What percentage of YOUR salary do YOU donate to charity? Not asking IF you donate to charity, but what PERCENTAGE. It seems like we expect so much more from celebs than from ourselves.

If YOU don’t feel comfortable donating 20%, why should they? You may say “Because if I donate 20%, I can’t afford my house or car or food.” Well, what if a celeb said “If I donate 20% to charity, I can’t live as lavishly as I do now”? You’d SCOFF at them and say, “You don’t need to live in that MANSION or buy that $100,000 car or wear those $400 tshirts!”

Okay, so what about YOU? Why not get a SMALLER HOUSE, an OLDER CAR, less organic food, etc. etc. If you think EVERYONE except YOU should downgrade their lifestyle and give to the poor, you’re just another part of the problem.

I often marvel at the fact that people don’t see the beam in their own eye. We have CARS and DIGITAL CAMERAS and people in other countries don’t have food. Maybe they look at us like we look at Jessica Simpson and think, “Wow, if they gave HALF of what they spent on clothes to the poor . . .” Believe me, I see the beam in my eye. I drive a car (albeit an old used one) and about once or twice a year I buy some new clothes. I spend money to keep my pet fed, when there are PEOPLE in the world who can’t eat. BUT, on the other hand, I’m not going to sit here and trash Jessica Simpson for doing the exact same thing as me (though on a different financial level).

Instead of getting defensive and arguing with this comment about how you CAN’T give any more than you do, or how FRUGAL you really are, can’t we ALL decide to look at our own lives and find places where we’re ignoring the state of the world in favor of living our own lives comfortably? What have you bought that you don’t need, indulgences on material things that aren’t really important? Let’s take a look at OURSELVES before trashing others.