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updated 4:50 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2009

TAMPA, Fla. - Nick Lachey is defending ex-wife Jessica Simpson, who has been criticized for an apparent weight gain.

Photos of a curvier Simpson performing last week in Florida have been plastered all over the Internet, leading to a slew of nasty comments about her weight.

Lachey, who was divorced from Simpson in 2006 after four years of marriage, defended her when asked about the criticism Friday night at a Super Bowl party he co-hosted with NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson.

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"I think it's ridiculous that the media is making such a big deal about it," he said at his Super Skins Celebrity Golf Classic party. "It's ridiculous that it would be making headlines. But you can't believe everything that's written or reported in the media. I wish her nothing but happiness."

The New York Post ran an editorial cartoon mocking Simpson, and Saturday ran a photo of her performing Thursday night in Charlottesville, Va., wearing a black leather ensemble. The Post described the outfit as a "waist-length jacket over her skin-tight pants and wide belt."

Lachey joined a growing list of celebrities in defense of Simpson that includes super model Heidi Klum, curvy reality TV star Kim Kardashian and Simpson's sister, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.

"I am completely disgusted by the headlines concerning my sister's weight," Ashlee wrote on her blog this week. "A week after the inauguration and with such a feeling of hope in the air for our country, I find it completely embarrassing and belittling to all women to read about a woman's weight or figure.

"All women come in different shapes, sizes, and forms and just because you're a celebrity, there shouldn't be a different standard."