Personal trainer and fitness personality Jillian Michaels posted a #ThrowbackThursday pic to Instagram this week which showed her as many have never seen her before. “Here’s me at 5’0 tall and 175 lbs,” she wrote in the caption. “If I can do it – anyone can.” She then encouraged her followers to share their own experiences of weight loss in the comments.
Michaels recently faced a backlash online after comments she made on BuzzFeed’s AM to DM Twitter talk show about singer Lizzo which were interpreted by many as fat-shaming:
Lizzo declined to directly respond to Michaels’ remarks, although she did post a video to her Instagram showing one of the dance routines she does during her live shows. The caption (“WATCH OUT FOR THE BIG GRRRL BITCH – I DO THIS EVERY NIGHT – DONT PLAY W ME HOE”) was, presumably, aimed at Michaels and anyone else who felt entitled to pass comment on the state of her fitness.
Michaels’ post, highlighting her own personal experience of being overweight, seems designed to shut down assertions online that as a fit woman, she has no right to “concern-troll” other women and their bodies. She has also issued a statement on social media in which she claimed not to be against the body positivity movement, and that all of her concerns are rooted in health.
“As I’ve stated repeatedly, we are all beautiful, worthy and equally deserving,” she said. “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.”
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