Why isn't Jillian Michaels in the ‘Biggest Loser' docuseries?
During part three of 'Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser,' which hit Netflix on Friday, August 15, a title card noted that Michaels 'declined to participate in this documentary.'
Michaels was a trainer on 'The Biggest Loser' for seasons 1, 2, 4-11, 14, and 15. She often motivated contestants by yelling at them or insulting them. In one clip from 'Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser,' Michaels pushes a woman to keep exercising even after she vomits on a treadmill.
Although Michaels didn't participate in the doc, she was mentioned in all three parts, and archive footage of her was used throughout. Her fellow 'Biggest Loser' trainer Bob Harper was interviewed for the docuseries. He claimed that Michaels didn't reach out to him when he had a massive heart attack in 2017.
'We weren't besties, but we were partners on a television show for a very long time,' Harper said, noting that Michaels' alleged silence after his health crisis 'spoke volumes' to him. 'I would not expect Jillian Michaels to do anything other than what she wants to do.'
NJ.com has reached out to Michaels for comment.
'The Biggest Loser,' which aired on NBC from 2004-2016 and on USA Network in 2020, followed contestants deemed overweight as they competed to win money by shedding as many pounds as possible.
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The docuseries explores the more controversial aspects of the show, from the grueling training sessions to the demeaning 'temptation' challenges. One such challenge tasked contestants with building a tower of high-calorie foods using only their teeth.
'The temptation challenges were the hardest part of the show for me. It was horrible,' Alison Sweeney, who hosted 'The Biggest Loser' from seasons 4-16, admitted in the doc.
Although producers Dave Broome and J.D. Roth defended the challenges as nods to real-world temptations that people face while trying to lose weight, Aubrey Gordon, a fat activist and cohost of the 'Maintenance Phase' podcast, shut down that idea.
'I've been a fat person for a long time. ... I don't frequently step into rooms with unguarded daises full of good,' Gordon told cameras. 'The idea is that fat people cannot be trusted around food. It's designed to make you draw conclusions about the contestants' characters based on what you see them eat on camera in a five-minute period.'
Michaels may not have lent her perspective to 'Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser,' but she did make headlines this week for her controversial appearance on CNN's 'NewsNight with Abby Phillip.'
While discussing the Trump administration's mission to remove 'improper ideaology' from Smithsonian museums, Michaels said, 'You cannot tie imperialism and racism and slavery to just one race, which is pretty much what every single exhibit does …Less than 2 percent of white Americans owned slaves. … Every single thing is like, 'Oh, no, no, no, this is all because white people bad.' That's just not the truth.'
Michaels has been criticized for her comments.
'This is what happens when you elevate a run of the mill gym trainer to political pundit,' one X user wrote.
'Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser' is available to stream on Netflix.
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