I typically try not to write on celebrities and what they’ve got going on as there are countless blogs out there that cover them. Also, I hate feeding into the “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” train by giving most of these people more attention than they deserve. But here I am – about to write about Jillian Michaels’ most recent comments about Lizzo.
Jillian Michaels was recently asked about Lizzo’s “body-positive movement”, I guess which is expressed through her music or just existing in her body not hating herself. Michaels replied, in clear disgust might I add, “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.”
*RECORD STOPS; SASHA STARES IN BLACK AUNTIE CONFUSION*
Upon hearing Michaels’ first three sentences, I was fully ready to agree with her. When she said, “Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter? Why aren’t we celebrating her music?”, I felt that because I’ve been wondering the same thing. I cannot believe it is 2020 and we are still talking about people’s bodies and regarding them as things to be proud about or not proud about, particularly for Lizzo who is not in an industry (diet, weight loss, fitness) where her body is or should be the primary focus or topic of conversation since she is NOT using her body to sell anything. She is a multi-talented recording artist.
She sings.
She raps. I think anything can pass for rap these days though, but I digress.
She dances.
She plays hella instruments.
Why are we not focusing on, oh I dunno, ALL OF THE ABOVE?
Why is her body any cause for concern? Oh, that’s right, because diabetes.
Because diabetes only impacts the overweight.
Because we can look at someone and automatically know they have or are going to get diabetes.
Listen.
LISTEN!!
You would think Michaels after all of her years on tv doing interviews and speaking engagements would be media savvy and trained enough to know when she’s being baited but she couldn’t help herself. Fat-shaming has become such second nature for her that she didn’t miss a beat and fell right into it. But you know what I think really bothers Michaels about Lizzo’s body-positivity and folks celebrating and embracing Lizzo? The fact that Lizzo doesn’t hate herself. That she isn’t steeped in constant shame and disgust of what she sees in the mirror.
That she isn’t consumed with the all encapsulating need to change her body in a way that is “acceptable” per mainstream society’s opinion of what is conventionally attractive and “healthy”.
When overweight people love themselves and are content with not spending their time AND MONEY focused on diet and exercise, it’s quite literally taking funds from the pockets of Michaels and those who profit from the diet, weight loss, health, and fitness industry. Industries that combined are valued at $338.5 billion. Follow the dollar signs.
Jillian Michaels’ net worth wouldn’t be valued at $14 million had she not been the personal trainer on NBC’s The Biggest Loser. A show about overweight and obese people rapidly losing weight in an unsustainable fashion. A show in which Michaels’ spent a lot of airtime belittling, disrespecting, and fat-shaming the participants on the show under the guise of tough love. Oh yeah, I didn’t mention that the majority of those on the show went on to regain nearly all of the weight, and more, they lost. Probably because their trauma and the source behind their obesity was never addressed but again, that’s another topic for another day.
Michaels sees Lizzo and sees a fat body. A body that needs to be changed. A body in danger of diabetes despite the fact Michaels knows nothing about Lizzo’s health.
She doesn’t just see a fat body though. She sees someone that has the AUDACITY to be happy in that fat body. And she’s big mad about it. Given the opportunity to explain her comments, Michaels has instead doubled down. Twice.
How refreshingly unsurprising. Remember what I said earlier – there is no such thing as bad publicity.
She won’t be canceled. And it’s not because she didn’t say anything wrong per se, I mean we’re all entitled to our opinion, right? It’s because it’s acceptable to fat-shame people in our current cultural lexicon and it’s doubly acceptable to disrespect black women. To make disparaging comments about our skin color, hair, features, and bodies.
Make no mistake, if Michaels had said this about Adele or Meghan Trainor, there would be a different reaction occurring. And this too, this rampant misogynoir in our society, is another conversation for another day. Back to Michaels.
For Michaels, the idea that Lizzo loves and even likes herself is inconceivable. It is probably even annoying to her. It goes against her ENTIRE life’s work. Michaels has spent so much time in her professional career modifying and molding bodies, having modified her own body (she’s always admitted to having a nose job but I don’t recall her lips looking like that a few years ago *insert squinting GIF here*), that she cannot accept someone doesn’t want to change their own body but instead feels positive about how they look. Not only feels positive about how they look but encourages other people to love and accept themselves as they are.
In an industry and world that depends on and profits from you hating yourself, self-love is an act of rebellion. It is wild. It is daring. This is a direct threat to everything Michaels has built her name off of. It makes sense that someone with such a huge platform as Lizzo’s would have her worried that people would dare practice body-positivity.
And this is why we need Lizzo now more than ever. Her message of self-love and body-positivity. Because while I think that we should be focusing on her MUSIC first and foremost, after reading about Lizzo’s personal struggles; her battles with depression, mental health, homelessness, losing her Dad, her battles in the industry, and dealing with unending criticism about her body, Lizzo should not be here. She is a fighter.
In a world that is increasingly cruel, where people are consistently under a microscope and picked apart, we are all fighters and self-love will be what saves us. When we learn to love ourselves, we won’t have room for hate in our hearts. We don’t have room to be annoyed that others like themselves. We don’t have space in our minds to look at someone and automatically surmise they will have diabetes because they are overweight. To make judgments about people based on your own biases, prejudices, societal conditioning, and misconceptions.
It’s unfortunate no one ever told Jillian Michaels it’s okay to love yourself just the way you are and if you’ve never heard it before, I’m telling you now:
YOU ARE JUST FINE THE WAY YOU ARE! I promise.
… unless you cough and sneeze without covering your mouth. You have work to do my friend.
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