It's apparent that "no comment" are two words that Jillian Michaels avoids when questioned about her controversial Lizzo remarks. While recently chatting with Buzzfeed, Lizzo and Ashley Graham were praised by the host for being body-acceptance champions. However, Jillian didn't completely agree. While she didn't reference Graham, she did speak on the "Truth Hurts" singer.
"Like, why aren't we celebrating her music?" Jillian said. "'Cause it isn't gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes. I'm just being honest. Like, I love her music. Like, my kids loves her music, but there's never a moment where I'm like, 'And I'm so glad that she's overweight!' Like, why do I even care? Why is my job to care about her weight?"
She later doubled down on her comments and Lizzo answered her critics with an explicit response: "If my name is in your mouth, so is my p*ssy, b*tch. Enjoy the flavor." Jillian is back, once again, clarifying her statements about the pop star. The fitness professional said that she doesn't believe her show The Biggest Loser is a television series that can work in today's society because we live in a politically correct culture that is "denying the reality of certain health ramifications.”
“There’s two different narratives. One narrative is love yourself, value yourself, and — by the way — only from this place can you be healthier, mentally, physically," Jillian said. "Believe in your worth and believe in your ability, but where this comes into play, right, you’re weight, your size, whatever you want to call it, is your health, and denying that there are serious health ramifications when we are overweight is just not a lie I’m willing to tell.”
She was asked what she would say to Lizzo if she could speak to her now. “Well, first of all, she didn’t invite this at all and what I really regret is this argument became about a person and what happened was I was asked if I celebrate her being overweight and I should have said, 'I don't celebrate anyone being overweight,' and I don’t know what would I say to her," Jillian stated. "I’m a huge fan, which is exactly what I said in the interview... Unfortunately, a human being was attached to a case that I was making. I wish that I would have responded that I don’t celebrate anyone being overweight."
Jillian Michaels Offers No Apologies Amid Backlash Regarding Lizzo Weight Remarks
She stands by what she said, but she added that "we are all beautiful and worthy."
It was a rough day for Jillian Michaels. The fitness guru found herself the target of heavy criticism following an interview with Buzzfeed's AM2DM series. During her chat, the personal trainer shared a few passing thoughts about singer Lizzo. "I love her music, yeah, a hundred percent," Jillian said as the host brought up celebrities, including Lizzo and model Ashley Graham, who preach body acceptance. "I don't know anything about her, I'm sure she's a cool awesome chick." The host added that she was happy that these artists promote bodies that aren't normalized or celebrated in the media.
Dimitrios Kambouris / Staff / Getty Images
"But why are we celebrating her body?" Jillian asked. "Why does it matter? That's what I'm saying. Like, why aren't we celebrating her music. 'Cause it isn't gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes. I'm just being honest. Like, I love her music. Like, my kids loves her music, but there's never a moment where I'm like, 'And I'm so glad that she's overweight!' Like, why do I even care? Why is my job to care about her weight?"
Social media came like a raging tsunami on Jillian and accused her of being an insensitive body-shamer, while there were a select few who believed that the masses were misinterpreting her comments. Hoping to bring some clarity to the situation, Jillian posted a text image of a few final thoughts on her recent controversial statements.
"As I've stated repeatedly, we are all beautiful, worthy, and equally deserving," Jillian tweeted. "I also feel strongly that we love ourselves enough to acknowledge there are serious health consequences that come with obesity - heart disease, diabetes, cancer to name only a few. I would never with these for ANYONE and I would hope we prioritize our health because we LOVE ourselves and our bodies." The explanation sparked an even more heated reaction, so let us know where you stand on this one.
