Real Talk 9th January 2020 by Valerie Loftus

This Fitness Guru Is Getting Backlash For Comments She Made About Lizzo’s Weight

Leave Lizzo alone.

Fitness guru Jillian Michaels has been criticised for ‘fatphobic’ comments on Lizzo’s weight.

In an interview on BuzzFeed’s morning show AM To DM, the 30-Day Shred trainer said that while we “should always be inclusive”, it’s wrong to “glorify obesity”.

When host Alex Berg said she liked seeing plus-size celebrities like Lizzo and model Ashley Graham, Jillian interjected, asking why people don’t just celebrate Lizzo’s music.

Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter? Why aren’t we celebrating her music? ‘Cos it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes. I’m just being honest. 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 it my job to care about her weight?

The fitness guru’s comments were immediately slammed as fatphobic, with Twitter users accusing her of feeling “threatened” by a fat woman who is celebrates her body.

Others mentioned the fact that Lizzo’s concerts are high energy affairs in which she dances, sings, and plays the flute, something she couldn’t do if she wasn’t fit and healthy.

https://twitter.com/SaraJBenincasa/status/1214980808244518912

In response to the backlash, Jillian released a statement saying that while “we are all beautiful, worthy, and equally deserving”, there are “serious health consequences that come with obesity”.

I would never wish these for ANYONE and I would hope we prioritise our health because we LOVE ourselves and our bodies.

However, this hasn’t gone down too well either, with people bringing up past criticism of the competitive weight loss show Jillian hosted, called The Biggest Loser.

The show was accused of promoting extreme weight loss methods like severe caloric restriction and over-excercising, and multiple contestants have since admitted to taking risks that endangered their health.

You can see why people don’t really want to hear what Jillian Michaels has to say about this one.

Tags: