Okay, we’re beginning to understand why Lizzo needed a break from the interwebs for a bit…
Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels came under fire on Wednesday for making a very controversial comment on BuzzFeed‘s AM to DM show where she seemed to fat shame the Truth Hurts singer.
The drama started when host Alex Berg praised the songstress and others who promote body positivity and self-acceptance, but the 45-year-old Biggest Loser star countered to get this sentiment off of her chest:
“Why are we celebrating her body? 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.”
Related: Lizzo Has An EPIC Response To Rude Body-Shamer On Twitter!
In a follow-up comment, she continued:
“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.’ Like why do I even care? Why is it my job to care about her weight?”
Oof.
So, as a fitness and health enthusiast, it’s not your job to care about the entertainer’s weight, yet you felt the need to make such a tone-deaf comment like that?
This is… bad. We’re just going to call it right now. But of course, we’ll let you make your own informed decision.
WATCH her explain it all in the clip (below):
.@JillianMichaels on Lizzo: "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." pic.twitter.com/FkKBd8J87b
— AM2DM by BuzzFeed News (@AM2DM) January 8, 2020
Unsurprisingly, the harsh remarks were immediately met with backlash!
Tons of social media users accused Michaels of perpetuating inaccurate stereotypes and fat-shaming Lizzo, who recently took a hiatus from Twitter over internet trolls and bullying.
Read through what critics had to say after Jillian’s video started going viral:
https://twitter.com/SaraJBenincasa/status/1214980808244518912?s=20
Jillian Michaels is a fatphobic hypocrite. “We shouldn’t be celebrating her body”…but her body is literally what she’s known for. She’s only saying that because people accepting fatness is a detriment to the money she makes by perpetuating harmful anti-fat ideals. https://t.co/UbZn8Vfu4u
— The Quicker Nutter Upper (@fluffyblkboy) January 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/ImperfectMz/status/1214983160204795905?s=20
I love how people like Jillian Michaels have reduced diabetes to ‘overweight’ .. this type of ignorance is astounding..
Leave Lizzo the fuxk alone .. #Lizzo pic.twitter.com/HXZk8t6egP
— Oskaer ???? (@Oskaer__13) January 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/Zoe_of_Elyon/status/1214980719673593856?s=20
We guess it’s worth noting that later on in the taped conversation, Michaels explained she just doesn’t want people “glorifying obesity.” Buzzfeed also posted the full version of their chat with her to provide viewers a bit more context to her claims.
Again, there’s a big difference here between what she argued and what people actually love about the Jerome singer. You know, like her ability to spread love, put on engaging and energetic shows, and inspire her fans daily by unapologetically being herself?
The fitness personality later returned to the online platform to address the controversy.
— Jillian Michaels (@JillianMichaels) January 9, 2020
In full, her message read:
“As I’ve stated repeatedly, we are all beautiful, worthy and equally deserving. 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.”
Uh, okay. So, not exactly an apology. In fact, it sounds more like she doubled down on those sentiments but threw in a few “love ourselves” to make it seem better?
Perezcious readers, what do U think about these comments? Lizzo’s offline so we probably won’t hear from her about this but we need U to sound OFF with your thoughts in the comments section (below)!
[Image via Avalon/Instar/WENN]
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