The Biggest Loser‘s Jillian Michaels Was Caught in a Trump-Related Controversy Right Before the Fit for TV Documentary
The Biggest Loser premiered in 2004 on NBC, focusing on overweight and obese individuals trying to lose weight. Whoever had the most progress on the show won $250,000. Michaels and Bob Harper were two of the original coaches and trainers on the show.
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However, despite contestants losing a significant amount of weight in a short period during the reality show, numerous controversies arose. Michaels left the show for good after Season 15 in 2014. She initially left the show in 2012 but returned for two seasons.
During the press run for Fit for TV, Harper revealed he hasn't talked to Michaels in over 10 years since her departure. He revealed in the documentary that when he had a heart attack and she didn't reach out to him, it 'spoke volumes.' When asked what he would tell her now about the documentary, he told Entertainment Tonight, 'Have fun watching it!' Michaels declined to be interviewed for the documentary.
Where is Jillian Michaels now?
Jillian Michaels is currently living in Wyoming with her wife, Deshanna Marie Minuto, and two children who she adopted with her ex-wife Heidi Rhoades. As of writing this, she has not responded to the Netflix documentary.
She commented about her role in The Biggest Loser in an interview with Today in 2021. 'I think there was some random guy they could talk to if they needed, but these people needed deep work,' she explained. 'When you have someone that weighs 400 lbs., that's not just an individual who likes pizza. There's a whole lot going on there emotionally.'
Michaels also said she didn't like the gamification of the show. 'Nobody should have been eliminated. That was my No. 1 issue with the show,' she continued. 'But the producers gamified weight loss. It was weight loss on a ticking clock.'
'The ones I yelled at are the ones that kept it off,' she shared at the time. 'You need them to feel the pain of the way they've been living. You need them to have a rock bottom moment where they're like, 'I can't take one more moment.''
Now, Michaels is focused on her podcast Keeping It Real, which she started in 2011. According to its description, the podcast 'dives into the stories, ideas, and truths that shape our world. Featuring top journalists, newsmakers, thought leaders, and everyday heroes, we explore breaking news, global events, and the personal journeys that inspire and challenge us.' Guests of the podcast included Piers Morgan and Candace Owens.
While Michaels did not support all of Donald Trump's policies during the 2024 election, she revealed she voted for him. She compared him to Vice President Kamala Harris as the 'lesser of two evils.'
Just a day before the documentary premiered, Michaels appeared on a panel on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip on Thursday, Aug. 14, to discuss President Donald Trump's order for a review of the Smithsonian Institution's exhibits.
Michaels argued that Trump was 'not whitewashing slavery,' with the review, and added, 'You cannot tie imperialism and racism and slavery to just one race, which is pretty much what every single [museum] exhibit does.' She later added, 'Do you realize that only less than 2% of White Americans owned slaves? You realize that slavery is thousands of years old?'
Philip responded, 'I'm surprised that you're trying to litigate who was the beneficiary of slavery. In the context of American history, what are you saying is incorrect by saying that it was White people oppressing Black people?'
'Every single thing is like, 'Oh, no, no, no, this is all because white people are bad and that's just not the truth,' ' she replied. 'Every single exhibit, I have a list of every single one like people migrated from Cuba because White people are bad, not because of Castro. Yes. No, it's in there.' The fitness trainer later claimed that 'everything is racialized.'Phillip later clarified, 'This was a conversation about the arts. And you brought up race.' Michaels responded, 'When you make every single exhibit about White imperialism when it isn't relevant at all, that is a problem.'
Michaels later defended her comments in an X post. 'Trump is not trying to 'erase slavery' by suggesting some of the instillations there are inaccurate and bias,' she wrote.Best of StyleCaster
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