Jillian Michaels, who served as a fitness trainer on the NBC reality series The Biggest Loser from 2004 to 2011, has responded to several claims made about her on Netflix‘s latest documentary series, Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser. The show’s in-house physician Dr. Huizenga, former contestants, executive producers, and co-star Bob Harper made these claims.
Jillian Michaels reacts to Biggest Loser documentary on Netflix
Jillian Michaels took to Instagram to answer the allegations leveled against her on the Netflix docuseries. These included the claims that she gave contestants caffeine pills despite Dr. Robert Huizenga’s ban on them. Notably, Michaels did not participate in the docu-series.
“Here is an email chain with @bobharper – the Biggest Loser’s producers – @drhuizenga’s guy… who stayed on set with us and distributed the fat burners about which ‘fat burners’ / caffeine pills to purchase the contestants,” Michaels posted on Instagram, along with screenshots of what appears to be an email interaction.
Michaels claimed in the same post that the caffeine pills were never banned on the show and that Dr. Huizenga approved caffeine pills on several seasons. She also claimed the suggestion for the use of caffeine pills came from Harper. Michaels added, “I wanted to use my brand instead because they were cleaner and had no more than 200mg of caffeine (equivalent to a strong cup of coffee.”
In a different post, Michaels dismissed the allegation that she told a contestant that they were going to make her a “millionaire,” calling it “false.” She also refuted the claims that she stopped contestants from eating enough calories.
Michaels shared screenshots of what she claimed was a “direct written correspondence with a contestant,” in which she apparently instructed them to consume 1,600 calories a day.
In one post, Michaels addressed the controversy surrounding Rachel Frederickson’s appearance during the season 15 finale. She claimed that she didn’t personally work with Frederickson and that she voiced her concerns for Frederickson’s health “both publicly and to NBC.”
In response, she received an email from the then-chairman of NBC, telling her that they would have pursued legal action against her if she hadn’t done that. “I resigned from The Biggest Loser shortly thereafter,” she concluded.
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on ComingSoon.
