J. Peterson, Dailymail.Com
July 26, 2024 19:49, updated July 26, 2024 22:49
Celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels has endured ups and downs in the public eye for two decades, but she feels she can’t cancel anymore.
“I’ve been canceled on so many times,” Michaels told DailyMail.com, “Now I just wear the T-shirt and every time is like a Boy Scout badge to me!”
She continues, “I’m like, ‘I got canceled because I said I don’t celebrate obesity! I got canceled because I said people shouldn’t give Ozempic to kids! Hold on a second, I got canceled because I said I think it’s unfair for transgender athletes to compete against biological females.'”
Michaels, now 50, has been courting controversy since he first appeared on screen in 2004 in The Biggest Loser alongside fellow personal trainer Bob Harper.
While Harper was notoriously nice on the competition show, Jillian took a very strict approach to losing weight and established herself as a polarizing figure from the start.
Now she’s ready to deliver her unashamedly honest advice on Bill Maher’s Club Random Podcast Network.
Her long-running podcast, Facing realitywas bought by the network, and Maher continues to build a menagerie of hosts who fit his particular style of anti-woke liberalism.
“They’re essentially building a podcast network where people want the truth, they’re curious, and they can’t cancel,” she explains.
“Bill wants a unique, inquisitive voice seeking the truth on a platform where people can have different opinions and feelings about the facts, but in a tolerant way.”
The collaboration began when Michaels appeared as a guest at Maher’s Club Random show in February.
The two discussed several key issues before a sharp disagreement erupted over California Governor Gavin Newson.
Maher was a fan of Newson’s, but Michaels, a native Californian, had recently moved from California to warmer Florida after watching cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles decline under the governor’s leadership.
The Real Time host was so impressed with Michaels that he offered to bring her podcast onto his network and support it in a video format to reach a wider audience.
Michaels also plans to “expand the conversation” beyond his specialty of health and fitness to discuss everything from social and political issues to finance.
An upcoming episode featuring Dr. William Lee will address the alarming rise in cancer among young people, while another will focus on teenagers buying fentanyl on Snapchat.
“We’re just fundamentally looking for thoughtful, evolved conversations to help people level up in all areas of their lives,” she said.
“But we’re addressing subjects that people are scared to address, subjects that would get them cancelled.
“And Bill really wants his hosts to be fearless and explore, so he’s giving us that opportunity.”
One of Michaels’ passions is protecting children from “gender-reassignment treatments” such as puberty blockers and surgery, and from the use of Ozempic.
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“What I’m looking at, and what I personally consider dangerous, is medicating kids and giving them surgery because they’re obese. To me that’s complete insanity,” she said.
“This raises serious concerns for our children and will have lasting effects that we don’t fully understand. We need to all work together to combat this.”
She continued, “That’s my biggest concern right now. And gender affirming care is scary.”
“Let me be clear: this is not about adults. This is about off-label use of anti-cancer drugs, puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and other medical procedures on developing children.”
“If adults can choose to take it on and understand what it means, that’s great. And if a lot of them feel like it’s life-saving, that’s great. But the ability to understand it, take it on and know the consequences, it has to be an adult who can do it.”
Michaels moved to Miami from his hometown of Los Angeles in June 2021 with his wife, Deshana Marie Minute, and their adopted children, Lukensia, 14, and Phoenix, 12.
She previously said that an intruder broke into her home with “duct tape and a video camera” – but that the intruder was released due to COVID-19 – and that was the last straw.
Asked if he thinks there’s a chance to save Los Angeles, Michaels isn’t optimistic.
“I think what’s needed is change on a more macro level, a transition in leadership to people in positions of power who are more tolerant, more common sense-based and generally less divisive,” she said.
“And what I’ve found is, honestly, bad behavior is happening on both sides. Both politicians are lying. Both politicians are being auctioned off to corporate greed through Citizens United. That’s just the way it is,” she continued.
“We see it every day from Big Food, Big Agriculture, Big Pharma, Big Banks, the military-industrial complex. We need leaders who are not for sale. And that’s not going to change unless campaign finance laws are passed.”
“Keeping It Real” will premiere on Monday, July 29th. Jillian Michaels YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts
