Jillian Michaels: ‘CNN branded me as crazy’
No wonder Jillian Michaels is the newest voice on Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios network.
Maher famously says his progressive views haven’t changed. Democrats shifted so far to the left Michaels no longer fits the party’s brand.
‘It’s irrefutable that a person born a male is going to have a continuum of physical advantages in sports. There’s a good amount of data to back this up. … Data is greater than feelings.’
Michaels knows the feeling.
“I went from left to center-left to center to now a little bit center-right,” the “Keeping It Real with Jillian Michaels” host told Align. “I haven’t changed in my mind … the world is changing around me.”
A political football
The fitness guru came out against trans females competing against biological women, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s radical politics, and more in recent years.
This lesbian mother of two is the first to decry corporate media bias as well. In fact, she’s living proof.
She recently appeared on CNN to purportedly discuss the widespread use of Ozempic. Michaels prefers an old-school dieting approach — exercise, healthy food, and moderation — to a drug with uncertain side effects.
“All I do all day long is talk to M.D.s and Ph.D.s,” she said, “CNN branded me as crazy.”
And she knows why.
“Health has become a political football … losing weight has become political,” she said, adding that the American Academy of Pediatrics has greenlit children as young as 12 being given Ozempic for their battles of the bulge.
She said she’s dubbed an “anti-vaxxer” for asking questions about the COVID-19 shots despite having had “every vaccine.” And she’s aghast at how vigorously social media platforms censor speech and those with so-called problematic views.
Zero tolerance
“We should be able to discuss [subjects] without being shut down and silenced,” she said. “I thought that being on the left meant you were the tolerant party. We wanted everybody to live free.”
Talking with her wife, Deshanna Marie Minuto, a Trump supporter, helped open her eyes. The modern left “is the least tolerant,” her wife told her. At first, she disagreed. “We’d fight constantly, but I started to see it after 2020,” Michaels said.
She’ll do plenty of talking on “Keeping It Real,” the video version of her audio podcast. The show lets Michaels weigh in on challenging topics without filters or shame.
A recent episode featured journalist Michael Shellenberger sharing inconvenient truths about “gender-affirming care” for children that the media avoids.
Michaels isn’t attacking those who disagree with her worldview. She calls it the Dale Carnegie approach, citing his seminal tome “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
“It’s tough. You want to feel safe, like you’ve nestled into a clan. At the same time, there’s a bigger goal, to get people to the table, to talk, to listen, to understand,” she said. “Once you understand where the other side is coming from, then from that point, you present your own positions. You’ve built up some good will.”
She thinks that’s sorely missing in the modern media landscape.
She began to notice a cultural shift roughly a decade ago. At the time, she was changing her representation following her exit from NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.”
40 and white
A new potential agency gave her a curious warning.
“You’re 40 and you’re white. It’s gonna be tough for you,” she recalled of the conversation. “Who cares? I‘m still great at what I do. I have a tremendous track record of being good at what I do,” she added, including an Emmy nomination and multiple best-selling books.
Part of her welcomed the diversity push. As the mother of a black child, she hoped her daughter would have more opportunities moving forward.
Good.
Not so good? The bigger picture where skin color mattered more than achievements. The “new” thinking suddenly included weight loss tips being framed as “fat shaming” and the government overreach tied to the 2020 pandemic.
Yes, the fitness queen invoked the “W” word. Woke.
Michaels wades into culture war issues without fear or hesitation. She once penned an op-ed detailing the evidence against trans females competing against biological women.
“It’s irrefutable that a person born a male is going to have a continuum of physical advantages in sports. There’s a good amount of data to back this up,” she said, adding we should come up with creative solutions that allow trans athletes to play sports in a fair, appropriate way. “Data is greater than feelings.”
Except she couldn’t find an outlet brave enough to consider it.
“Nobody, and I mean nobody, would print that piece on the center or the center-left,” she recalled.
Weight loss tips
At 50, Michaels looks as trim as a 20-something influencer. And she’s ready with solid advice on how others can slim down in a healthy, reasonable fashion.
“Invest in a walking pad,” she said of the modestly-priced gadget. “Walk when you’re using your computer, answering emails or watching your favorite show.”
No more excuses about the weather being too cold, hot, or rainy, she said.
“Do 10,000 steps a day,” she said. She recommends getting one of the many simple phone apps to track said steps. “You don’t need a fancy Apple watch.”
Eat whatever you want, she added, with a heaping helping of common sense. Cheetos and Doritos are not the ideal choice.
Need to splurge? Binge on green vegetables.
“Go crazy! Fill up to your heart’s content. It’s loaded with fiber,” she said.
Still struggling? She recommends an online support community, Overeaters Anonymous or a MeetUp.com tribe, for moral support.
