Christina Aguilera: "I Was Forced To Stay Thin After Releasing My Album 'Stripped'"

1 October 2012, 14:31 | Updated: 1 October 2012, 16:50

The 'Dirrty' star admits her label were furious when she returned from a tour with Justin Timberlake a little "heavier".

Christina Aguilera has revealed that she was forced to stay "toothpick thin" during 2003 after gaining weight during her promotional tour with Justin Timberlake that year.

The 'Your Body' singer told Billboard magazine that she had grown tired of her image and how she was portrayed.

"During the promotion of my album 'Stripped' I got tired of being a skinny, white girl," she confessed. "I am Ecuadorian but people felt so safe passing me off as a skinny, blue-eyed white girl."

She continued: "The next time my label saw me, I was heavier, darker and full of piercings. Let me tell you, that wasn't an easy pill for them to swallow."

The 'Genie In A Bottle' star admits she gained 15 pounds on the tour and was told how her weight gain would affect a lot of people if she didn't do something about it.

"They called this serious emergency meeting about how there was a lot of backlash about my weight," she revealed. "Basically, they told me I would affect 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."

Christina admits she quickly lost the weight and was "toothpick thin during 'Back to Basics' promos and touring".

The star is back with her new album 'Lotus' and admitted there was no way she would be making the same sacrifices this time around.

"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," she declared. "It's my body."

Meanwhile, the 'Dirrty' star recently unveiled the action-packed music video to her new single 'Your Body' and will step down from her seat on the coaching panel with The Voice to concentrate on her own musical career in 2013.

Usher and Shakira will replace Christina and the also departing Cee Lo Green on the fourth season of the music reality show.