Jillian Michaels opts for commenting on Lizzo’s body over practicing basic decency
Aux Features Newswire
We suspect that someone like Jillian Michaels can’t help but be threatened by a body-positive force like Lizzo: After all, the former Biggest Loser trainer makes her living selling books and DVDs featuring meal plans and workouts for people who want to lose weight. She even has a fitness app, My Fitness By Jillian Michaels, which she mentioned on the BuzzFeed News morning show, AM To DM, yesterday while discussing new year’s resolutions with host Alex Berg.
Right after she knocks fat shaming and says that she’s pushing “inclusivity,” Michaels segues into talking about the apparent dangers of “glorify[ing] obesity,” which is “dangerous,” “kills people,” and “the number one cause of bankruptcy in our country.” Host Alex Berg then brings up celebrities like Ashley Graham and Lizzo in a positive light, commending them for preaching self-acceptance, resulting in images of bodies that we don’t usually get to see being celebrated in the media. Jillian immediately cuts in, “But why are we celebrating her body?… Why aren’t we celebrating her music?” (Um, who said that we weren’t? Pretty sure that we all are.) Michaels continues/rambles, “Cause it isn’t going to be awesome if she gets diabetes… I like her music, my kid likes her music, but there’s never a moment when I’m like, ‘And I’m so glad she’s overweight!’” (All of the fireworks start in the clip above around the eight-minute mark.) Berg soon tries to switch the conversational topic to Michael’s kids, but the damage had been done: Nobody messes with Lizzo, especially when she didn’t request anyone’s takes on her body in the first place.
Michaels has since received a ton of backlash online and elsewhere, classifying her as a fatphobic member of the diet industry. Some noted how Michaels’ seemingly disingenuous concern align with the public’s tendency to police the bodies of Black women in particular. She then made a weak attempt on Twitter to kind of/sort of/not really apologize:
How did Lizzo spend her day yesterday, you ask? Well:
The queen wins again.
156 Comments
There is a difference between body positivity and healthiness. It’s all well and good to not be embarrassed about love handles. However it doesn’t change the truth that being overweight is generally bad for your health (I say this as someone who is also overweight). Michaels didn’t take unprovoked potshots.
And there is a difference between being overweight and obese. As someone who has been both, I felt better (and my cholesterol improved) when I dropped back into the overweight range. Which I’m still in, by the way, because losing weight is hard.Look, I don’t trust Jillian Michaels’s motives, but she is not wrong that obesity is generally unhealthy. Body positivity is a great thing in general, because no one should be made to feel like less of a person or that their weight is a moral failing even if they’re 500 pounds, any more than they should if they’re afflicted with cancer or a heart condition or a broken leg. But I don’t think it does anyone a service (especially in an era of fake news and people being willfully ignorant about science in so many other areas) to deny the health impacts.
There is also a tendency to discuss the whole weight / health thing within the context of the moment which is a bit of a reductive argument. My cholesterol etc was pretty normal when I was a smoker but that also because I was in my early 20s and my body dealt with it better than a person smoking in their 50s.
I totally realise half the comments in these situations act like someone like Lizzo is about to drop dead and a key idea of body positivity is not saying “never even try and change” but more saying “you can love yourself and still be looking to address potential future health concerns”. However I’ve seen some people discuss the health impact of weight in what feels to be a somewhat shortsighted way
Good luck on your journey – it’s a struggle i’m familiar with.
And I’m obese and my cholesterol is great. No one else’s weight or health is your business. All anyone is asking is that people stop commenting on other people’s bodies unsolicited.
Do you really think fat people are fat because too many people told them they were wonderful? Because too many people “celebrated” their bodies?
The host of the radio show directly asked Michaels what she thought about the body positivity movement and ”self-acceptance” of being overweight resulting in body types not usually celebrated by the media. In other words, they directly asked a fitness trainer for her opinion on overweight people just accepting that being overweight is a lifestyle choice. She didnt fat-shame anyone in her response, but if fat people are offended by her honesty then they should probably work on being more body-positive. If you actually believe in body-positivity, then comments like hers should be met with a shrug, not a diatribe.
If someone said, “I can be beautiful, even if I don’t go for my yearly doctor’s check up,” would Michaels be upset that we are suggesting that people are encouraging unhealthy lifestyles?
But she did take an unprovoked potshot because Lizzo didn’t ask her a goddamn thing.
There’s a difference between being someone’s doctor and not being their doctor and if you are not, their weight and health are none of your business. That’s the point. Quit commenting on people’s bodies. It’s unnecessary and it’s almost always hurtful.
Seeing as how many of the contestants in The Biggest Loser, which used to give Michaels a paycheck for screeching even worse vitriol than this in their faces, wound up with dehydration, kidney damage, heat stroke, and a myriad of other maladies, to say nothing of the emotional damage done to many of them, maybe no one should be asking her opinion on what’s healthy and what isn’t.ETA: Trolls looking to get out of the greys by all-caps yelling about how obesity is unhealthy can move along. You’re not going to get a reply.
Jillian Michaels is starting to look gristly
She does look very…strained. And when she is interviewed she kind of sounds like one of those people who doesn’t realise that thin people can be extremely unhealthy too.
For instance, her ex-cohost on The Biggest Loser had a heart attack while he was at the gym!
O’ll Jill needs to lay of the plastic surgeons. Going to be looking like cat lady after few more slice and tucks!
I thought was a dude at first glance.
classic Penguin
I don’t know what that means. I thought perhaps JM was a trans-woman giving another woman a hard time. No, I didn’t express it very eloquently.
I think you just see dudes everywhere. I think you step outside and live your life under the impression that about half the people you see are dudes. It’s your jam, hoss. You be you.
Lol. Getting weirder, but OK. Since half of the population are male, yes, half of the people I see are male. It would not grieve me to go an entire day without ever seeing a male. Women can also be a pain in the ass. Just to cover the territory, I don’t have a problem with males (gay or straight), as long as they are actual allies. I suppose that goes for women too.I read some of your Post’s history; You don’t seem like a troll, but this is a very strange flex. I’m not bothered. You do you, also.
i’m doing me right now, in fact!
Hey, enjoy!!
i think you just Level Up’d, dude. check your Character Sheet
Don’t know what you mean, dude. This is getting boring……..
It’s okay. We’re both good. You don’t know what i mean, but i promise you that i have a firm grasp on it; given an average 50% comprehension level between the two of us, this conversation is well above the contemporary par. We are nailing ‘communication’, trust me.
But i understand if you’re bored. Please know there has been zero ill will, no cheap shots, no insult sub rosa, sub woofa or sub limina, little leopard sealery, any nothing else predatory or destultifactory. You’re clearly the earth’s salt, and we all have shtuff to do.
hm, also, i’ve realised, thanks to the Pentagram of FlashBlocking from within which i speak, i can’t “upvote” you by granting you a nice star…. and this makes me like a dog without a tail. -2 Reaction. Life is rough, dude.
Yes. It’s a hard old world. I learned this during my “wise woman” phase. Now I’m just happy when people use their turn signals. Peace – have a star.
being body positive is goodbeing body positive and taking care of one’s health and physical fitness is better.
Is there any reason to believe Lizzo isn’t taking care of her health or fitness? She dances every night she performs and has regularly posted videos of herself working out (not that anyone needs to prove that they work out, but I guess fat people do). Are you her doctor? Do you see her pedometer? Do you know what she eats? I have people in my immediate family who eat like garbage and don’t work out ever but no one thinks they aren’t “taking care of one’s health and physical fitness” because they’re naturally skinny.
where did i say anything about lizzo’s health?in fact, i’m sure she’s relatively healthy considering all the things you mentioned.i’m simply stating that as we become a more body positive society, we also should remember that we still need to try to live a reasonably healthy lifestyle while accepting and being proud of what we look like.
Since this is an article about Lizzo, it’s a very easy assumption that your comment is about Lizzo. If it isn’t, then it’s totally unnecessary and irrelevant.
You know Lizzo personally so you know she isn’t doing that? Because, otherwise, you’re just talking out of your ass.
Overweight and obese people know that there are health consequences to their condition. I imagine they really don’t want to be like that, and dealing with health anxiety. And that’s how their self-esteem issues arise, and in a culture that is obsessed with beauty and sex (hey, remember how overweight the Peleton lady was?). Body positivity, then, I think, is just to get them to feel like a normal person and to let go of the belief that people are disgusted by their appearance. That last bit would be helped by others not actually being disgusted by their appearance. It’s also difficult to lose that much weight, and in a culture that has so much food capitalism bombarding you with constant temptations. (How many fast food joints are there, compared to how many gyms and clinics?)
I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life and one of the biggest reasons that I did not go to the gym was fear. Not fear of the equipment or working hard. Fear of people thinking I was lazy or not willing to try or gross because I was fat. I’ve luckily found a gym that is supportive, but when someone talks like she did, I get those feelings again. There is a way to be realistic of health risks and positive in how you support people.
This is the god’s honest truth. The gym can be a scary place, particularly if you’re overweight. I’ve been there. I’m still there in a lot of ways. And this week at my gym there have been a bunch of New Years resolutioners, several of whom are obese. I can see them feeling everything I felt 18 months ago. I’ve tried to be welcoming and friendly, because I know that when that was me, all I could think about for those first few weeks was that others were judging me and my workouts. The reality is that people are paying far less attention than we think, but that matters little when you’re self-conscious.
I think alot of people have very similar feelings. The gym has this weird intimidating aura around it that would probably take a legion of psychiatric experts to unravel. But in all honesty the avg gym goer is super nice and willing to help out any one who needs it. Oddly enough, the people you would think would be the most judgemental (the jacked beautiful people lol) are usually the nicest.Anyone who is scared or intmidated to go to the gym, don’t be. 99% of the people won’t even notice you. Do your thing.
And I get that about most random people at the gym, but I’ve also had really bad experiences with trainers, and Jillian is certainly re-enforcing that trope.
Jillian Michaels LOVES to injure fat people. How many times on her show has she set the treadmill too fast, over the person’s complaints, only to have them fall off the damn thing, as predicted?
She’s a bully. Who the fuck cares what she thinks?
This. Does the entire world think that overweight and obese people don’t know the consequences of being overweight? Lindy West has an excellent discussion of this in her book Shrill. It’s like Jillian Michaels and everyone thinks they’re giving you some enlightening feedback, when really it’s just a reminder that they consider themselves somehow morally superior to you or that they want to put you in your place. Because they can’t accept your body, you shouldn’t either, apparently.What these people don’t understand is that shame is often what traps people in these cycles of obesity. Or it’s at least a contributing factor. You know when I started to lose weight? When I accepted what my body looked like and let go of the shame I felt for letting it get that way. That was so freeing. When I let myself believe that I was worthy of sharing gym space with the beautiful people, it got easier. Body acceptance helps people work toward change way more effectively than shame. Shame isolates people and shuts them down. Acceptance encourages risk-taking and makes people feel secure enough to make changes. You would think that a professional trainer like Jillian Michaels would know that motivating people works better when you support rather than shame them. But she’s always been a really superficial trainer in my opinion, and problematic in her hawking of snake oil (supplements etc.)
It’s really very simple. Don’t be an asshole. Don’t be an asshole to fat people, don’t be an asshole to alcoholics, or drug addicts, or the homeless, or…people in general. Not only is it bad to be an asshole, but, if you’re genuinely concerned for someone and your stated goal is to get them to change their behavior—rather than making yourself feel better—being an asshole to them just doesn’t fucking work. People are well aware of the shame and stigma attached to their “bad” decisions and merely adding your voice to the chorus of other assholes accomplishes precisely nothing. Body positivity isn’t about worshipping or glorifying fat; it’s about allowing yourself to not feel like absolute dog shit because you’re not at your desired weight, and acknowledging that you have value as a person and can be attractive to others regardless of your body shape. And, surprise surprise, people tend to make better, healthier decisions when they’re at peace with themselves and not trapped in a depressive shame spiral.
I don’t want my health insurance rates to go up because of overweight people having health issues. There should be different rates based on bmi, smoking, etc. It is a fact that overweight people have more health issues and has nothing to do with shaming a person based on their looks, it is all about health and obesity is not healthy.
I admit I have been a dick when it comes to my private thoughts and reactions to people struggling with their weight in the past. And still am sometimes. But Lizzo is probably one of the best case studies I have ever seen when it comes to disproving the “put down the fork” or “just jog a little” knee-jerk reaction many people have towards weight loss. If you’ve ever seen her live, you know she is putting in work. Not like “work” but physical work. Most people would be out of breath five minutes into her show regardless of their size, and then she goes and pulls out a fucking flute. So there is waaaaaay more to obesity than personal failings. And while science does support that being overweight contributes to health issues, science is starting to also support that the state of being overweight is complicated and not something many people can just beat into submission on pure force of will and motivational quotes alone. So no one is celebrating obesity, just like no one celebrates cancer or any other disease. But we celebrate people who do the damn thing anyway. And that is nothing but a good thing, even if it’s not great for Jillian Michael’s personal brand.
It does not surprise me in the least that a hack like Michaels makes a classic correlation = causation error. This sort of concern trolling is something fat people have to deal with all the time and it’s really destructive—particularly when you look at all the other shit black women have to deal with in our society. That Lizzo is an unapologetically joyful fat black woman who loves herself and is also talented, successful, and beautiful makes her the unfortunate target of waaaay too many unhappy people desperately looking for someone to disdain so they can feel better about their sorry selves. /rantETA: I will dismiss any fatphobic and/or concern trolling responses to my comment. Make your own post if you must, but stay off this thread.
I also find it rich that Jillian Michaels would comment on health when everyone has pretty much said the Biggest Loser used some EXTREMELY unhealthy means to get results.
The number one cause of bankruptcy??
Statistically, I think the number one cause is actually “being Donald Trump”.
I think it’s actually “you’re retarded”
I really can’t see anything dodgy or offensive about what she said.
And also, why are people bringing race into it? How is that relevant?
Identity politics, social justice points, wokeness, etc.
Because black people always have their images policed to a greater extent than white people. They get criticised for wearing their hair in natural styles, for not dressing “appropriately”, for taking up too much space. It’s a thing. If you don’t think there is a racial element to a large black woman being unashamedly happy with her appearance, then you may not have been paying attention.
Complete nonsense. Morbid obesity is dangerous and a fitness expert is not a terrible bigot for pointing this out. And regarding the racial element, if she had said this about a white woman, well then the Woke Times here never would have covered the story in the first place.
Why don’t you just fuck off you racialist, sexist, fat shaming piece of shit. You are clearly not interesting in understanding anything from anybody’s point of view but your own racist, sexist point of view. So do us all a favour and fuck right off back into your shit smeared bubble where you can pretend just because you are a stupid white man you know what is best for everyone.
That was a lovely poem, you had me at “fuck off”. I heard a great expression recently, ‘Offence Archaeology’, to desribe the odd practice of people who are constantly sifting through the detritus in search of things to get upset about. Thats what’s happening here because absolutely nothing Jillian Michaels said is in any way offensive. If you think it is then you have no clue what’s really going on in the world. And I’m not a white man, I’m an Eskimo non-binary midget.
that was a good fart.
That was a lovely poem, you had me at “fuck off”. I heard a great expression recently, ‘Offence Archaeology’, to desribe the odd practice of people who are constantly sifting through the detritus in search of things to get upset about. Thats what’s happening here because absolutely nothing Jillian Michaels said is in any way offensive. If you think it is then you have no clue what’s really going on in the world. And I’m not a white man, I’m an Eskimo non-binary midget.
Your anger at a stranger just cured all of Lizzo’s health problems. Congrats!
I have absolutely no “anger at a stranger”, what a ridiculous thing to say. People hear dog-whistle phrases like “body positivity” and “fat shaming” and they lose their minds. But you know what they say, it’s only dogs who hear dog-whistles.
Thank goodness you’re her personal physician and can tell all of us exactly how and why she got her body the way it is so that we may all learn to shun such shameful behavior. And if you want to talk about unhealthy habits, how about Michaels and Biggest Loser itself, which combines multiple danger factors: sudden increase in activity for people who are almost certainly sedentary, and sudden fluctuation in weight (aka yo-yo dieting). Everyone – EVERYONE – agrees that the only way weight loss can be sustained is with lifestyle adaptations involving gradual change. Deprivation and humiliation like what these participants experience only leads them to regain and even go beyond their original weight – which causes even more strain on an overtaxed heart than simply being fat in the first place. It doesn’t address the societal, cultural, genetic and emotional factors that have led to weight gain in the first place. In addition to, yes, the white male privilege that makes you think that commenting on the body of anyone, particularly a woman of color, is okay, the African-American community has cultural differences from the white majority from birth to death. Medical research among PoC and women lags in all areas, leading to incorrect assumptions and outcomes about health – why would you do a Subaru diagnostic on a Range Rover? Women and a PoC have their medical concerns belittled or ignored; see how Serena Williams nearly died after childbirth. Let’s not even get into the cultural aspects of heavy, calorie-laden comfort foods that can seem like abandoning a culture if avoided. PCOS! Different standards of beauty! Diabetes for people who AREN’T fat! Metabolism differences! Lizzo’s high activity level that clearly has little effect on her ABSOLUTELY NORMAL body! Go eat a flippy tire.
So I asked what bearing race had upon this story and I was told off for my “white male privilege” and I was called a “stupid white man”. I was also told to fuck off several times, which got past the av club filter. Regarding privilege, basically I don’t have any. This is a ludicrous generalisation about the white race that’s put out there by people that insist generalising is bad, except when directed at white men. I recommend to anyone reading this to get a copy of “The Madness of Crowds” by Dougals Murray as its a fantastic examination of the kind of anti-intellectual “wokeness” that a site like this drowning in. And obesity has nothing to do with body-positivity, it’s just plain umhealthy and dangerous. It also has nothing to do with race, gender or anything else you choose to yell at people who disagree.
He’s not her doctor, but do you honestly believe you couldn’t find a single reputable physician who wouldn’t tell Lizzo that losing weight is absolutely in her best interest?
“Because black people always have..” ignore everything after this line because it’s bullshit.
Seems it’s racist to tell someone they’re unhealthy. Actually, now that you mention it, seems more racist to not tell someone they’re unhealthy because of the color of their skin and allow them to die faster than they might have otherwise.
Let’s stop pretending Michaels know anything about LIzzo’s specific health issues or is actually making a medical diagnosis. She’s targeting a black woman who’s proud of her body and telling her that’s a bad thing.
Um, it’s apparent that Lizzo is overweight, if not obese. She admits to it and sells it as part of her brand. You don’t have to have a medical degree to state the obvious. Supporting body positivity doesn’t mean you have to encourage unhealthy behavior. Nor does it mean you have to remain silent when someone is proud of their body, but is obviously unhealthy. Sounds like Michaels was coming at it from an objective standpoint, but people such as yourself have twisted it into a social and racial issue. She’s surely commented on just as many unhealthy white people’s bodies as she has black people’s, if not more so. It’s her career. The only difference is that she’s now commenting on someone you all can make a big stink about. I mean, how many people would be outraged if Lizzo was dangerously thin and Michaels commented on that too? Nowhere near as many.
Well, I’d be disapproving (outraged is a strong word) if Michaels criticised someone for being too skinny, because it’s none of her damn business and she can always just say nothing at all. As far as Lizzo’s health goes, being fat does not mean being unhealthy; there are plenty of fat people who are much healthier than their skinnier counterparts, they just carry weight differently. Michaels is not Lizzo, or Lizzo’s doctor, so she doesn’t know shit about her health. She just thinks that Lizzo being fat is “glorifying” it, as if a bunch of people are going to suddenly decide to go out and eat until they gain a few dress sizes, rather than just happily existing as she is and maybe telling other people out there that they don’t have to be skinny to be valuable.
If that’s the way you view the world, then nobody can talk you out of it, no one is even going to try. But you have got this colossaly wrong. Nothing offensive was said and nobody is exempt from criticism no matter how many diversity points they score. One of the great measures of equality is not just that we’re treated the same, but that we’re criticised the same without being told to check our non-existent privilege.
If you don’t personally know someone and aren’t their doctor than you should shut your trap about their health.
I barely know who Lizzo is but fuck yes Lizzo!
I don’t know whether or not Jillian Michaels is specifically an asshole, but I do know the rules of Assholeness are different when you’ve made your body part of the public domain purposely as performative subversion.
At 2:34 – the way this ‘professional trainer’ is jumping up and down, will need knee replacements in 15 years. Idiot.
Yeah wtf is that move even? I’ve done all sorts of jumping plyometrics, but that’s a new one. And yeah it looks pretty rough on the knees.
Plyometrics really are great. But, lol; her two rules of exercise – consistency and variety. Duh. The first rule is safety because not everyone has primo health insurance, and few people I know can take a week off because “I stretched a hammy, boohoo.”
Jesus she’s SO DRAMATIC (and hyper AF). Is everyone on Adderall these days? She’s exhausting. I think I dropped 2 lbs. just listening to this diatribe.
I came for the Lizzo support, and then got bonus Jameela Jamil awesome saltiness.And good for Lizzo really stepping up and helping with the fire effort. That’s above and beyond, and this Aussie appreciates it.
I get people feel like Michaels was attacking Lizzo, but I don’t think she said anything out of line. The fact is, Lizzo isn’t just a normal person battling her weight. She is part of a group, intentionally or not, who glorify obesity instead of calling it what it is: a dangerous and unhealthy weight that leads to medical and financial complications. Lizzo does not get to have this private world where nobody can comment on her – she traded that in with being a celebrity who celebrates her size. Everyone, regardless of their weight, deserves respect, love, kindness, and to not be ridiculed for what is a hard issue for many to deal with. However, society needs to understand the difference between being respectful to the fact that obesity does not devalue someone and celebrating someone’s obesity as beautiful or natural when it is neither of those things..
You’re trying to talk reason and nuance to a bunch of zealots and the rigid binaries that always come along with zealotry. The alphabet consists of A and B: you’re either celebrating or demonizing; there is no middle ground.
Lizzo is called beautiful, gorgeous, and apparently can outrun, outdance & outsex everyone else. (cringe) Look, she’s a great singer/artist/performer and I will never make fun of her just cause she’s overweight. But, in the same instance, I’m not going to priase her for it either. Jillian is right. It’s NOT something that should be celebrated. Jameela comments about everyone getting off Lizzo’s dick. I’d take it a step further and tell everyone to stop sucking Lizzo’s dick. She’s a singer.. not a deity.
You
could
have
said
nothing
And you could have typed that all in one line.. yet here we both are.
I mean, I’ll edit it down to one line of it will shut you the FUCK UP.
You must be new to the internet… Welcome!
No. Your brand of nothing is very familiar.
And your convincing argument of “stfu” adds to the discusson how exactly? We can continue this not-so-witty banter if you want, but I stand by what I said. If you disagree, then by all means, disagree and even make a counter point if you feel up for it. But telling me to shut up is not productive and adds nothing of value. Period.
Shut up.
Another masterful comment from the doucebag.
You could have shut up.
But you decided to call me a doucebag.
Way to go, pro-tips.
And you could have added anything remotly constructive, yet you chose to act like a douchebag th entire time. Hats off to you, sir.
Imagine telling on yourself like this.
Ugh – yes – totally agree. I feel glorifying obesity is as dangerous as glorifying anorexia. There’s a lot of middle ground, where body positivity should live. LIzzo posted a picture of herself for the 10 year challenge, and she was a normal weight just 10 years ago. Sure, she can perform on stage for hours. That doesn’t reduce all of the other health issues that come with being extremely overweight, and I don’t understand why pointing that out is terrible..?
No one is actually trying to glorify obesity though. They just want people to STFU about other people’s weight like they’re saying something new or enlightening. Overweight people know they’re overweight. Being constantly shamed doesn’t help, it often makes things worse. People have the right not not be made to feel like shit by keyboard doctors like you. So step off, Mira.
I don’t think anyone in the conversation was “glorifying” obesity. I think the dude wanted to glorify not being ashamed of what you look like, no matter what that is. Part of not shaming is not pointing out to every fat person or smoker or whatthefuckever that they’re dangerous and sick and don’t they wish they could even just a little bit more like Jillian Michaels. They are who they are. Do you have people criticizing your lifestyle choices every day? If yes, I bet you wish they’d shut the fuck up.
Saying that people who are overweight, fat, obese, whatever have value and have something to offer the world is not glorifying obesity. No one is saying, “Be fat! It’s wonderful!” No, people are saying, “Fat people deserve to be treated like people and not shamed and not told they are ugly and not laughed at, just as much as skinny people do.” As far as health goes, maybe let people deal with that with their doctors and realize that not only do you know nothing about the health of any random person, but it’s none of your business.
To me this is a classic case of not what you say, but how you say it. Yes, factually, it is true that for most people there are increased health risks with being overweight. It is also true that everything from genetics to mental health to physical health can impact one’s weight. So instead of cursing the fact that people are celebrating her body, why not talk about how losing weight isn’t easy? Why decide to make it that Lizzo just doesn’t care? That is likely not the case at least in my experience as a fat person who occasionally manages to have positive self esteem.
She was at a normal weight 10 years ago…
I’m not going to argue that there aren’t health problems that come with obesity, but I am going to argue that most people who bully/concern troll people about their weight don’t actually care about the health problems. They just think that being fat is at best a humiliating flaw and at worst a moral failing.
Exactly. I know multiple members of my family who eat TERRIBLY and NEVER work out. But they’re naturally skinny and literally no one calls them out on how unhealthy they are because they look “normal” or thin. I just can never believe anyone when they say it’s all out of concern for someone’s health. You don’t know their health.
Nobody who’s overweight needs to be told they’re overweight. My MIL used to fat-shame my BIL in front of everyone (he had a beer belly but he wasn’t like, 400 lbs.) and I finally told her to cut it out. Scolding and shaming people doesn’t make them lose weight (in fact often the opposite) and it always made me wonder what she thought of ME, as I’ve gained a decent amount of weight in the time she’s known me.
This is the worst written article I have seen in a long time. She said nothing offensive. She stated basic facts about the negative health effects associated with obesity. The article completely ignores these and writes “nobody messes with Lizzo”. Okay? The article completely ignores facts for feelings and basic logic. Michaels even praises Lizzo. Just wants to be honest. Praise what is praise-worthy. If everything is praise- worthy, then nothing is.
And ironically, if you watch the video the interviewer brought up Lizzo. Not Jillian.
And he totally held a gun to her head and forced her to comment on a stranger’s health situation. Michaels and you have one thing in common. You can both STFU.
She was at an interview. During these “interviews”, people “talk” about “topics”. And believe it or not, people will share their opinions, especialy when ASKED, like she was.Sorry for not shutting the fuck up. I tried…
And she could’ve said she doesn’t know Lizzo, nor is she her doctor and to comment on it would be inappropriate. Not every question merits an answer, but Michaels a D-list celeb (and that’s being generous) and she needed to shit on Lizzo to keep her huckster name in the public consciousness instead of admitting her 15 minutes are up.Try harder.
If you actually listen to what Jillian said, She never once comments on Lizzo directly. She objects to the fact that *other* people celebrate her body weight or whatever, but there is nothing insulting there, nor does she ever comment on Lizzo specifically. The interviewer should have never named names, and Jillian shouldn’t have commented after that. She did and she can deal with the aftermath, but regardless, I still don’t think what she said was offensive to Lizzo or anyone. We can agree to disagree on that.for the record; I hate Jillian Michaels and that Bob guy.. And I loathe the Biggest Loser (which I think is utter bullshit). But with her experience, I do think she’s more than qualified to comment generally about obesity, which is what she did.
JM said “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.” How is that not directly commenting on Lizzo?
The first comment is about other people, not Lizzo directly. The coment about diabetes is a hypothetical. If she said it definitively (Cause it isn’t gonna be awesome when she gets diabetes), I’d certainly be more on your side, but it’s an “if” comment and an accurate one at that…Found this online http://www.diabetes.co.uk – “obesity is believed to account for 80-85% of the risk of developing type 2 diabetes”
Did you pull anything with all that reaching you’re doing?
Nope. Just using facts, logic & reason.
Have you been to a Lizzo concert? That woman is all over, up and down that fucking stage with nothing but energy and has enough control over her breathing to bust out a god damn flute.
Can I just say fuck everyone ever associated with the Biggest Loser, this Biggest Loser included? An eating disorder game show that over exerts and starves its contestants while torturing them for being traumatized? The bar for reality TV is low, but these fuckers are underneath it.
Didn’t think it was possible to like Lizzo more.I stand corrected.
Every time somebody tells me I should “love the body I’m in” and other such tripe, it makes me want to bash their heads in with a lead pipe.
#1 cause of bankruptcy?! I’m a fat person, and I find that statement to be the most offensive. The #1 cause of bankruptcy is our predatory for=profit healthcare system. Not all sick people get sick because of their diet. Often the people who go bankrupt aren’t fat people, they are people with unavoidable illnesses. The people who are dying because they have to ration their insulin are the ones with juvenile diabetes. I’m so sick of this bullshit narrative that fat people are the biggest reason for the failure of our healthcare system. Believe it or not, there are fat people in the UK and Canada too. This combination of fat shaming and corporate propaganda is infuriating.
Remember Jillian Michael’s original nose?Pepperridge Farm remembers…
There are soooooo many people who are thin in the US alone who are sick. This Michaels lady is out of her mind. Who is she to predict what disease a person will get according to their body weight? Most of the time, it can be accosted to family history. Let’s see….cancer runs in families…..Type 2 diabetes runs in families…high cholesterol can run in families. A lot of these can skip generations too so some may be afflicted and someone may not. I have thin people who are in my family who has diabetes, high cholesterol and have to take drugs to control it and cancer….some are young in their 20s and one is almost 40. Most people are naturally thick (which would probably be obese to her) and not rail thin . Ashley Graham is an example….She would be naturally thick. Most women of all nationalities are her size and not from overeating excessively. There a quite a few woman who are gaining weight from meds like steroids, birth control..I mean come on. It’s something that comes with some meds and that person can’t control that sometimes. Michaels needs to mind her own business. Lizzo is comfortable with her own body. Lizzo has said she has been thin at a point in her life and was still comfortable and doesn’t need anyone opinion about her body at any weight.
Statistics. Medical studies that went on for decades following thousands of extremely overweight people. There is no such thing as being healthy and extremely overweight.
Yes, but why is that anyone’s business but their own? Why do some people feel they must point that out incessantly? Would I rather be friends with fat, beautiful, brilliantly alive Lizzo or dick-up-her-ass, please shut up Jillian Michaels? I see a person’s radiance from within and I keep my nose out of their personal choices.
Unless you are someone’s doctor, their weight and their health are none of your business. There’s no point to you throwing around generalities about health and weight because you aren’t saying anything new. Your last statement is something you couldn’t possibly know.
I absolutely agree there’s a pretty terrible FAT=DEATH, SKINNY=LIVE FOR EVER thing that is pushed way to much in these sort of comments
However it must be acknowledged that for many health services the largest proportion of money is spent on helping people with diseases relating to obsesity and being overweight. I know the NHS (I live in the UK) now spends more on treating people with these issues than treating people with issues relating to smoking (which used to be #1).Plenty non smokers get lung cancer/emphysema/etc but I wouldn’t use that to suggest one couldn’t discuss the potential health problems a smoker may have (especially in the context of society, discussing these things about specific people is pretty rubbish)
So, that makes it OK to harass people who are overweight? Why does everyone feel the need to lecture fat people–whether in a general way or specifically–about weight and health? Unless you are a doctor, it is none of your business what any other person’s weight or health is like. And it costs you nothing to shut up about it.
I do agree, but I feel there’s a lot of different stuff under this umbrella of “fat shaming”. Harassment, absolutely not OK. Lecturing fat people, absolutely not OK. But at the same time we need to be able to discuss societal movements and issues and right now weight related health issues are a problem.I’m in absolute agreement that the way things are portrayed in media is quite frequently terrible but I worry there’s an element to these sort of discussions where people suggest straight up “you cannot talk about this” and that’s not OK either.I’ve really tried to listen in these sort of discussions but there are points where people say stuff that goes way beyond discussing how we treat people (and can be better) and genuinely feels like attempts to encourage willfull ignorance towards a greater issue. I realise this is all a very sensitive subject and it’s important but that doesn’t excuse people acting like there’s no nuance to this particular conversation.
When I smoked, people would always tell me, “That’s bad for you.” And you know what? That was stupid, because the media already had that covered and I couldn’t miss that smoking was bad for me and why. The same thing applies here. Every fat person knows the risks. It’s all over the media, we can’t miss it. No one is getting fat thinking, “It’s no big deal. I’ll be fine.” No one gets fat on purpose, either. No one says, “I want to be fat, let me eat Ding Dongs and mashed potatoes for the next year.” Telling us stuff we already know about fat and health is not helping and it adds to the shame. It’s said as if we didn’t know and if we only knew, we’d be skinny in no time. (And God knows we try, almost always in unhealthy ways.) And let’s also notice that skinny people who eat like shit and never exercise don’t get this crap, but Lizzo, who we know at least exercises, does. So, why is it so hard to just not say anything? You know that fat people know these things. Let it be between them and their doctor. Look, no one is saying that scientists and researchers should stop looking into weight and its effects on health. No one is saying that research shouldn’t be published (although we could probably work toward more honest and responsible reporting of it.) We are saying that the general public needs to quit telling fat people that they are at risk of being unhealthy because we.fucking.know. I’m just real tired of people policing my body. And make no mistake, that is exactly what’s going on when people do this.
Ah, I’m in total agreement with this having to be a conversation directed towards someone – as you say people know what they might be doing wrong – particularly strangers.
It’s just there’s tricky lines (and I believe there is a line – and it’s not “can’t talk about any of this”) here and it’s worth discussing to figure them out. Even in this case I don’t think everything said was terrible (I’d argue the presenter deliberately naming people as examples is terrible but a health professional discussing one of the bigger health issues in society isn’t in itself a bad thing).Also clearly one of the bigger issues is the discussion itself is so often focused on the people rather than broader strokes of the whole thing. Talking about how food is manufactured, advertised and generally presented within society would arguably be talking about the problem with an eye towards dealing with it far better than the “stop eating” tone of most of the discussion. When we discuss the opiod crisis it’s very rarely focused on the character of the people addicted to opiods.. This fixed perspective on weight issues is likely why even general discussion feels like an attack to some, they’re so used to how things play out when we discuss weight.
The only thing I disagree with you on here is calling Jillian Michaels a health professional. If you ever watched the Biggest Loser (and I did because a coworker’s friend was on it and I hope he’s doing OK now) you would see how unhealthy and horrible and fat shaming her tactics are. She’s not much better since that show (thankfully) left the air. Honestly, I don’t consider any physical trainer (as in the gym type, not the physical therapy type) to be a health professional. They may be fitness professionals, but there’s a difference in knowing the right ways to do exercises and what builds what muscles the best and knowing about health.
Ah fair play, I’d sort of got that vibe from the comments here but I’ve literally never seen her or heard her speak before. Definitely got the vibe here her perspective was being used more to gossip about celebrities lives but wasn’t at all sure if that was the show bringing the guest to their level or just everyone involved being fairly ech
(I’d agree with you re the definition of “health professional”, that’s certainly what I had in mind making my comments but as can be the problem with these sort of discussions is it wasn’t clear if I was referring to the incident inciting the discussion or the broader ideas that were more worth discussing)
Ya I’m sure she has an extreme irrational fear of fat people.
It was rude what she said. But I’m quite tired by now of Lizzo and Lizzo Discourse so I don’t really have the energy to hate this person, whoever she is
Then don’t click on articles about Lizzo?
Thanks for the tip
No, but if they don’t click on all the Lizzo articles then they can’t tell people how tired of Lizzo they are.
This is the first I’m hearing of the word fatphobic.
Really!? Discrimination based on weight is very common and fat shaming seems to be one of the few “safe” jokes comics and Tv shows are happy to exploit. Fatphobic is probably not the right term. Weightism maybe?
There’s a real push to make being fat a human right and to treat fat shaming the same way we treat racism. This is apparently less effort than studying nutrition and trying to be more active.
LOL at Lizzo not being active.
Because it’s totally cool and OK to shame fat people and laugh at them and make sure everyone knows they are horrible, awful people and they have nothing of worth to offer the world because they aren’t skinny.
I’m Bob Harper, and I had a heart attack. I also hosted a game show that exploited fat people by hounding them to workout 8 hours a day on starvation level diet, thereby permanently ruining their metabolisms and causing almost all of them to rebound to weights even higher than when they started. Now let me proceed to try to sell you a drug as some kind of beacon of health even though I obviously don’t know what I’m doing and shouldn’t be giving people advice.These 2 idiots can pound sand.
The only people who should care about Lizzo and her health is Lizzo and the health care professionals she hires. You know who doesn’t have a right to say shit. Some idiot who was on a show that spent years selling America on unhealthy and unsustainable weight loss techniques. Just look up what happened to almost everyone who was on the Biggest Loser. Most regained the weight after they left the shows regiment of forced exercise and starving diets.
Right after she knocks fat shaming and says that she’s pushing “inclusivity,” Michaels segues into talking about the apparent dangers of “glorify[ing] obesity,” which is “dangerous,” “kills people,” and “the number one cause of bankruptcy in our country.”Curiously written. Sounds like for some people heart disease isn’t the leading cause of death in the western world and the medical risks that come with being obese aren’t as grave as the many peer reviewed studies and well-documented science would suggest. Body positivity is great, no arguing that, but apparently being six feet under is too.
I mean, she’s not wrong. Society has an unhealthy relationship with their body and food. Losing weight is incredibly hard and we should provide better nutrition education (as well as nutrition itself). The solution to this isn’t glorifying Lizzo’s obesity. She’s not a bad person for being morbidly obese, but she can’t feel good all day and she’s going to have serious health problems later in life (if she doesn’t already).If someone was a serious heroin addict, and was in public looking gaunt and pale and close to death, the rational thing would be to treat them with compassion and regard their addiction as a problem that they ned help solving. The rational thing would not be to go “yas queen, slay girl boss, anyone who tells you you have any health problems is cancelled sis”
I was thinking of this in relation to someone like Pete Doherty when he was a heroin addict.
So people definitely didn’t act like talking about his addiction and potential issues was off the table because he knows he has a problem and thus that’s enough (he can still perform so it’s fine!)
But at the same time I’m pretty sure people talked about his heroin addiction much less than people talk about Lizzo’s weight. Which is kinda bonkers because whilst we can compare a little there is a huge fucking difference between being overweight and having a heroin addiction.
I guess it speaks more to the way internet discussion is always oh so binary. Lizzo need not be defined by her weight but also not everyone expressing concern/discussing it in a negative light isn’t simply being a troll or a terrible person. Terrible things get said about people who are overweight and that’s not OK but we do should be able to talk about this (ideally less in relation to individual people are more relation to society where, as the article noted, health issues relating to weight are becoming more and more prevalent) without the conversation being shut down
Not a lot of people are addicted to Heroin (more and more every day, we’re in the middle of a pretty serious opiod crisis, but it’s still the minority) A lot of people are overweight, a significant amount morbidly so, and they feel terrible about it because late stage capitalism has created a food industry that has hacked the human brain to create these addiction issues, and in turn that has birthed a pretty powerful shame industrial complex. Point is, people like being told that it’s totally fine to be fat because it’s such a relief from the constant barrage of shame related to it.But both approaches are unhealthy. Ultimately it’s none of my business, but as an asshole on the internet I’ll share my two cents: Lizzo has a large platform, and she has chosen to push “body positivity” which is to say denying that her morbid obesity is a very reral problem that she struggles with every day (as many people do). I understand her motives, and there are some positive aspects of it, but I think she’s doing her young fans a disservice by not being honest with them.
Lizzo should be at a healthier weight just because she has money and can afford better food and training. But that’s her business. I’m fat too, I got my own problems. Her music cheers me up.
I love Jameela Jamil, but I don’t think “get off [x]’s dick already” means what she thinks it means.
Jillian Michaels reminds me of a Home Depot.
This is delusional. Nobody’s obesity should be encouraged, nor should we decide any form of unhealthiness is desirable.
I’m fat… I think of myself that way. I’m in awe of Lizzo – She dresses as she likes, and doesn’t apparently have any of the challenges many of us do beefcake she keeps moving, not as exercise, but to express herself in a big way. There have been many many large women, especially in music, who have wowed us with their talent – Mama Cass, almost every opera singer ever 😂. I am in awe of anyone comfortable in their body, and wearing what they want without hiding. (I grew up when the skinniest of women wore girdles…). Lizzo is not the first woman to step out beyond what many of us consider an obstacle in our own lives, but with social media she definitely has lot of power to push back (and a lot more to push back at). She puts her energy to her art instead of to being involved in changing her body (an obsession which is self involved and feels endless). Imagine if I spent the energy and time on things I dream of instead of on changing my body, what might I achieve? I do agree that we should celebrate her music and incredible charisma rather than her body… Because any focus on a woman’s body – “positive” or otherwise, it’s objectifying. Even if a woman is at a different percentile in the weight spectrum, the size or shape of her body should not be the focus of anyone’s concern. I don’t think what Jillian said was overt or shaming, but I can see it comes from a priveleged place where a ‘skinny’ person is given more authority in America especially than a ‘heavy’ one, and that’s more sad because it’s so ingrained it can’t be seen by the people doing it. I look forward to the day that weight or analysis of a woman’s body or appearance – “positive” or negative, is pushed back against with so much energy.
I dunno if Mama Cass is the best example what with the whole being dead at 32 due to (according to the doctor’s report – obviously can’t know for sure) complications relating to her weight.
I’m not 100% sure, because this was like a stream of consciousness writing, but I think LaDeLaDe (repeat as needed) point was not that these are people who were fat and healthy but these were fat people who had something awesome to contribute to the world and that there are a lot of amazing singers who are fat. Mama Cass is an excellent example of both of those things.
I don’t think anyone is suggesting Lizzo doesn’t make great contributions to the world because of her weight (well I guess probably some shitarse is but you know what I mean).Amy Winehouse made some absolutely incredible music and contributed loads to the world. However I still might find myself in conversation commenting how I wish she had been able to overcome the circumstances that led to her death and had thus lived longer. I wouldn’t be trying to shame her, or suggest she was lesser or anything but she still died young and that sucks.
But focusing on her weight (which has been happening a lot) implies that it’s more important for her to be skinny than to do things like helping out in Australia or providing entertainment via her singing and performances. This is the message that is given to fat people all the time when the media and other celebrities focus on the weight of celebrities. No one (outside of possibly people who knew her) was focusing at all on Amy Winehouse’s problems (I don’t actually know if it was drugs or alcohol or both, that’s how little the focus was) instead of her incredible voice. There may have been some talk about it, but it was nowhere near what happens with Lizzo. And there aren’t advertisements on TV constantly for products to help with those problems—products that are unhealthy or temporary—and there aren’t articles and news pieces constantly about the issue (outside of opioid addiction, which is not often handled well.) Fat people cannot go one day without hearing about how bad being fat is. It gets tedious. And it wears you down. And it makes you not even want to try because it implies that you don’t have value as long as you are fat, but who wants their only value to be being skinny? I’m lucky. I have people in my life, both private and work, who don’t care about my looks. They see my worth for what it is, so I can overcome all this crap (although it still pisses me off.) A lot of people can’t. And, interestingly enough, the way a lot of fat people cope is by eating (which is often how they got that way in the first place, assuming no extenuating circumstances.)
You’re right, people absolutely focus on Lizzo’s weight – it has become arguably her most defining characteristic and that’s terrible.
People did focus on Amy Whinehouse’s drinking though. Not nearly as much as they do with Lizzo’s weight but it also was a key part of what people talked about her (I’m from the UK it definitely felt like over here her drinking and drunken exploits were a common topic of newspaper stories and thus conversation). I’d argue alcohol does have quite a lot of press devoted to it (both vilifying those with a problem and glorifying the idea of drinking)
Either way, anyone’s personal life should be that interesting to others – most of what i’m uncertain about with regards to this discussion is any suggestion that discussing the problem on a societal level (rather than a personal level) is also not OK.I realise it’s hard to understand just how much of what one reads or hears can end up being about weight and the relative value of one’s weight and thus how every article on the subject feels like yet another cut.. At the same time there are problems associated with weight that affect the world right now so they are going to get discussed, we just have to be careful about how they are discussed
Like I said, I have no issue with reporting on research being done about weight and health (again, assuming it’s honest and responsible, which it isn’t always.) I think the research is important and I think knowledge is powerful. I could read something that would make me go to my doctor and say, “Hey, I read this, and I feel like I might be at risk for it” and then go from there. (I’m fortunate in the US to be able to have a job with good insurance so going to the doctor is not a hardship.) Also, I appreciate that you are actually listening to what I’m saying and not just trying to be right. So many people on the internet just want to be right and so they don’t actually listen. I try not to be like that (and I’m not always successful) and I really appreciate it when someone else listens. Thank you for hearing me.
How dare she correctly point out that obesity kills.
Jillian is 100% right. Fat shaming is bad, its meant to be hurtful, its meant to cut people down, its wrong. Not celebrating an unhealthy body and championing people to be healthy is NOT fat shaming. And here is the surprise, it can be both. It can be body positive and healthy positive.
I used to like Jillian, but now that she has fully converted into a B R A N D she’s insufferable.Also, can you be throwing body shade when steroids made you more masculine than me (a cis male) there, Jill…..?