Celebrity trainer and fitness guru Jillian Michaels – best known for her stint on NBC’s ‘Biggest Loser’ – probably received the biggest backlash of her career after weighing in on Pop star Lizzo‘s physical appearance last week.
During a chat with BuzzFeed News last Wednesday (January 8), Michaels was quizzed on why the singer’s body is praised. She responded:
“Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter? Why aren’t we celebrating her music? ‘Cause it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes.”
Once the interview went viral, Jillian – flooded with negative remarks on her social media handles and even getting a fiery clapback from Liz herself – released a statement that asserted she stands by the ‘diabetes’ comment (a point she later reiterated). This week, however, she’s singing a slightly different tune.
On a promo blitz that’s seen her drop by ‘E! News,’ ‘Inside Edition,‘ and more, the 45-year-old was also spotted at ‘Extra’ where she sat down with resident anchor Billy Bush to further discuss today’s PC culture, body positivity movement, and respond to accusations of body shaming.
See it inside:
In the video above, Michaels explained:
“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… 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.”
When quizzed on what she’d say to Lizzo now after all the hoop-la, she said:
“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. I’m a huge fan, which is exactly what I said in the interview. I wish that I would have responded [differently and said] that I don’t celebrate anyone being overweight [not just Lizzo].”
[photo source: Getty Images]
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In case you missed it, here’s Jillian’s original statement:
Here’s Lizzo’s response:
Your thoughts?
I think Jillian should’ve been a real b**** and stuck with what she said because she not wrong. Lizzo need to make sure she promote good health and also promote body positivity! It’s better to have constructive criticism now than on her death bed. Ask Missy she knows.
Im tired of seeing this cellulite ridden elephant showing her bumpy äss in every performance. It’s disgusting
@Cu…- hahahaha!
I’m not going to lie…I used to like Lizzie and here “the new big girl is here” attitude. She started off very humbled and that was her thing. She received more popularity and success. I’m sure her team and her label and of course her fans boosted her head up, especially receiving props from Nicki and Cardi. But as time went on, she became very “fake” and her attitude shifted to “im that b****” and honestly she’s not that b**** when your songs take 2-3 years to pop off. And she can stop with victim act because she’s a big girl when her brand was build off being a big girl. Once she started showing her naked bare ass, GIRL THATS THE PROBLEM. She’s turned of people off, even worse, slot of them were her main supporters. Missy, Queen, Angie Stone, Kelly Price, Jasmine Sullivan…All great examples of successful “big girls” who never had to get but ass naked for a few streams. Keep it and make good music, Lizard!
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I remember watching the Biggest Loser back then and feeling sympathy to Jill so this is pretty disappointing. People like Lizzo celebrate her body as it is precisely because they have been denied being celebrated for their work and talent due to body shaming. It’s not rocket science, it’s a very simple logic. Plus living a fit lifestyle nowadays has a lot to do with privilege.
It hasn’t. It has all to do with your own will to live healthy. Stop making excuses for obesity.
Maintaining that kinda lifestyle of high protein and vitamins intake plus workout supplements is impossible for minimum wage workers. Plus people have the right to do with their bodies as they please. Stick to trolling Crowmila cause you dunno what you’re talking about.
You sound like a mad fat girl
You don’t need personal trainers do exercise. Hell you don’t even need a gym membership for that. Living healthy is a matter of choice and not a matter of money. Gtfo with your bs
Dumb fück! It costs a lot more money to get that fat!
Lmao the irony is that I hit the gym 6x a week while one of you is a troll and the other can’t even wash their v*****. The f*** yall know about being healthy? ?
Healthy is what your mom isn’t after all those years of selling püssy
“Plus living a fit lifestyle nowadays has a lot to do with privilege.” That is absolutely untrue. Lack of access to fresh fruits and vegatbles or the ability to buy it does not negate all other weight factors like exercise and portion control. It’s all fun and games until suddenly it’s not.
She said nothing wrong at all.
She said we shouldn’t be praising Lizzo for her weight but for her music and only her music. Shouldn’t an artist be celebrated for their craft regardless of their appearance ?!
It is a change of pace to have someone out there killing it on the charts and owing their body. She’s real and she isn’t one more « curvy woman with big thighs » like J.Lo, Bee, Kim K etc. Most women out there look nothing like those girls.
Yes it’s great to feel good about yourself even when you don’t fit in with the standards. But we have reached a point where all topics are being mixed up and might confuse a younger audience.
I’m fat and I don’t care because I’m still beautiful and I rock and boys love me and I’m stylish and I can do anything blablabla.
Yes, she is all those things and she’s killing it. Let’s be clear on that.
I don’t know what’s Lizzo’s take on obesity and what is her condition, because maybe there’s more to the story or maybe there isn’t at all.
It’s not about being skinny like a tooth pick. People love to jump to extremes.
Nobody should ever be fat shamed, you never know why people are obese. It’s not just about food, even tho it can be. There’s side effects to treatments, psychological issues and the list goes on.
Nobody is asking her to look like a skinny stick nor change her appearence. She should be the way she wants to be and not be an ambassador of any kind.
But being obese does create health issues that need to be talked about, it’s not just having a big a$$ and a belly.
The debate can’t be limited to « I’m fat, deal with it, I’m beautiful and I can do anything. »
For fu<k’s sake, this world is more sanitized than a quarantine zone. There’s zero progress in being politically correct just to please the masses and idiots on so called « social » medias who think their opinion matters.
You for president!✊?
Lizzo is a fat disgusting mess.