Actress Kristen Johnston has slammed reports she's suffering from an eating disorder - blaming her skinny new frame on a burst stomach ulcer. Gossip columns and Internet bloggers went into overdrive earlier this month when the 40-year-old 3rd Rock From The Sun star was spotted at an event in New York appearing to be alarmingly thin.

But the statuesque star insists her drastic weight loss is the result of a nasty illness, and not an eating disorder.

She says, "I realize I am too skinny now, and I'm not comfortable with it... while I was doing a play (Love Song) on London's West End, an ulcer I didn't know I had burst. I spent the next month and a half in the ward of a London hospital. I left there 40 pounds thinner than when I came in. It was a wake-up call and I knew I had to change everything... The combination of the ulcer, not drinking alcohol and my healthier eating habits melted the pounds away."

-Episode Guides For All Six Seasons of '3rd Rock'

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)