Jillian Michaels Doubles Down on Her Comments About Lizzo
Former Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels has recently been making headlines for her outspoken comments on popular music star Lizzo. The fitness guru has never been one to shy away from her opinions on diet and exercise, and is now backing up rather than backing down on her controversial statements.
Not afraid to be politically incorrect
Michaels had previously spoken out on today’s body positivity movement, revealing that she was concerned the new perception was promoting an unhealthy message. Though she noted there were positives with the evolved mindset on body shape and weight, Michaels shared that the focus should be on health, not political correctness.
“I think we’re politically correct to the point of endangering people,” she said, according to Women’s Health U.K. “Yes, we want to be inclusive of everyone [and respect that] everyone comes in all different shapes and sizes. That nobody should ever be body shamed or fat shamed or excluded and that everyone is equally deserving and should feel equally valuable.”
While she acknowledged the importance of acceptance and was emphatic that there is no place for any kind of shaming, Michaels fears the body positivity movement may be going to an extreme. “Obesity in itself is not something that should be glamorized,” she said, adding that she realized her opinion on the matter would be very unpopular. “But we’ve become so politically correct that no one wants to say it.”
Buzzfeed buzz
When Michaels was asked about her comments on the danger of obesity being glamorized, the host brought up Lizzo as an example of someone “preaching self-acceptance.” That’s when the former Biggest Loser trainer gave her thoughts… in detail.
“Why are we celebrating her body?” Michaels said on BuzzFeed News’ Twitter morning show AM to DM. “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. I love her music, my kid loves her music. But there’s never a moment where I’m like, ‘I’m so glad that she’s overweight.’”
After receiving backlash for her statements, Michaels took to social media to clarify her comments. “As I’ve stated repeatedly, we are all beautiful, worthy, and equally deserving,” she 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 wish these for ANYONE and I would hope we prioritize our health because we LOVE ourselves and our bodies.”
Lizzo had remained quiet on the matter, but just recenty posted some thoughts on Instagram that subtly addressed the controversy. “This is my life. I have done nothing wrong,” the music star captioned the post. “I forgive myself for thinking I was wrong in the first place. I deserve to be happy.”
Not backing down
Despite the criticism Michaels got – and seems to keep on getting – she didn’t walk back her statements when asked again to expound upon her Buzzfeed interview.
“Here’s what I’m going to say. I’m a health expert. For decades I have said repeatedly that your weight and your size have no bearing or merit on your value, your beauty, your worth, your ability,” Michael told TMZ on Thursday, according to Yahoo! Celebrity. Again, she pointed out the health hazards of obesity. “Where it does have relevance is your health. To pretend that it doesn’t is not only irresponsible, it’s dangerous — and it’s just not a lie that I’m willing to tell because it’s politically correct.”
Michaels shared that her intention in the Buzzfeed interview was to send the message to “take care of your health because you love yourself… And that we should value people based on their skills and their abilities,” she said. “It should be irrelevant what size they are. That’s up to them… [Lizzo’s] health is her business.”
The fitness trainer reemphasized what she specializes in and what she is primarily focused on when it comes to the subject of weight. “I am a health expert! People come to me, they ask me about health information,” Michaels said. “Obesity is the number one contributor to diabetes, heart disease, cancer. I wish that on absolutely no one.”
