‘The Biggest Loser’: Where Is Jillian Michaels Today?
Netflix is looking back on one of the most controversial show is in reality TV history.
The new docuseries Fit for TV (which premieres August 15) explores the history of The Biggest Loser, the show that challenged overweight individuals to lose as many pounds as they could in the hopes of getting healthy – and winning $250,000.
The Biggest Loser premiered in 2004 ran for 18 seasons. Viewers followed along as contestants were coached (or bullied, depending on your point of view) by the show’s trainers through various challenges. One of the show’s most notorious trainers was Jillian Michaels, known for yelling at contestants and, at one points, slipping people contraband caffeine pills in an effort to boost their weight loss.
Michaels, who does not appear in Fit for TV, left The Biggest Loser for good in 2014. So, where is the personal trainer and fitness guru today? She’s now a mom to two kids with her former partner, Heidi Rhoades. In 2022, she married DeShanna Marie Minuto.
The Biggest Loser alum is still encouraging people to lose weight through her Fitness App, which includes custom workouts, meal plans, and support. She also frequently speaks out about health issues and politics, though she has come under fire for her views.
Jillian Michaels sides with MAHA, makes inflammatory comments about race and slavery
In July, Michaels told Fox News Digital that she was 100% behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, or MAHA.
“I would love to see all the things that Kennedy campaigned on,” Michaels said. “The MAHA movement, they’re up against four of the biggest lobbies in the country. So, Big Ag, Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Insurance … Honestly, I would like to see a hell of a lot more banned from our food supply than just red number 40.”
On her social media and her Keeping It Real podcast, she has questioned the safety of vaccines and fluoridated water. She’s also dived into topics such as immigration and hosted guests such as Bill O’Reilly and Lara Trump.
On August 13, Michaels appeared on CNN’s Newsnight (via The Advocate), where her comments about slavery left the other panelists visibly stunned. During a discussion about the Trump administration’s recent demands that the Smithsonian update its exhibits to align with its view of American history, Michaels challenged the idea that white people were responsible for slavery.
“You cannot tie imperialism and racism and slavery to just one race, which is pretty much what every single exhibit does,” Michaels said, adding that “less than 2% of white Americans owned slaves.”
“Every single thing is like, ‘white people bad,’ and that’s just not the truth,” she said.
When host Abby Phillip pushed back, Michaels accused her of trying to “racialize” the discussion.
“Just to be clear, you brought up race … you brought up slavery and the question of whether it was about race,” Phillip replied. “The answer is yes. Slavery in the United States is about race.”
Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser is streaming on Netflix.
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