Jillian Michaels Slams ‘Biggest Loser’ Documentary—Reportedly May Sue

Topline

Jillian Michaels, a former trainer on the NBC reality show “The Biggest Loser,” told TMZ she may sue over a new Netflix docuseries highlighting what former contestants say was cruel treatment, specifically refuting an allegation that trainers on the show broke rules by giving contestants caffeine supplements to lose weight, since she claimed that was never actually one of the show’s rules.

Former “The Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels slammed a new Netflix docuseries about the reality show on Tuesday. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Key Facts

Michaels, who did not participate in the documentary, told TMZ on Tuesday morning she is meeting with lawyers about filing a lawsuit against Netflix, producers of the documentary, former trainer Bob Harper and a doctor who appeared on the show for making what she says are false claims.

Michaels said in an Instagram post Tuesday morning caffeine was “NEVER banned on ‘The Biggest Loser,’” refuting an allegation made in the docuseries that trainers gave contestants caffeine pills despite being against the show’s rules.

Michaels shared emails from 2009 on Instagram, which appear to show the trainers and producers coordinating to provide contestants caffeine supplements.

TMZ reported Michaels is meeting on Tuesday with Bryan Freedman, an entertainment lawyer also representing Justin Baldoni in his legal battle against Blake Lively (Forbes has reached out to Freedman for comment).

Will Jillian Michaels Sue Netflix?

Michaels told TMZ’s Harvey Levin in a phone conversation, recorded and posted to TMZ’s website, that she is considering either filing a lawsuit or releasing emails she has previously shared with “Biggest Loser” producers. Michaels told Levin she is weighing whether the cost and time required to file a lawsuit is worth it, but she said the docuseries is “so egregious” and “so damaging that I don’t think I have a choice.”

What Happened With The Jillian Michaels Caffeine Pill Scandal?

In a 2013 episode of “The Biggest Loser,” Michaels’ team of contestants was penalized after host Alison Sweeney said on-air that Michaels had broken the show’s rules by giving a contestant unauthorized caffeine pills. Sweeney confronted Michaels on-air during the weekly weigh-in, when contestants are weighed to determine who has lost the most weight. “Last week, Jillian broke the rules and gave caffeine supplements to each member of her team without a doctor’s permission,” Sweeney said, to which Michaels said she stands by her opinion that caffeine pills are “significantly healthier than unlimited amounts of coffee.” The results from the previous weigh-in were invalidated because of the apparent rule violation, leading to eliminated contestant—singer Ruben Studdard—returning to the show. At the time, the Los Angeles Times reported Michaels had told a user on Twitter they were “spot on” after the user claimed the caffeine pill drama was a ploy to get a famous contestant back on the show. Some contestants interviewed in the Netflix docuseries said they were given these supplements, but Robert Huizenga, the show’s medical consultant, said caffeine “was absolutely against everything in the show.” Huizenga said he “banned coffee ’cause people were abusing it” and that the ban was “in the show rules,” which the contestants and trainers signed off on. Michaels admitted to TMZ on Tuesday she was not personally allowed to give contestants caffeine pills, which is why she was penalized, but she claimed then-showrunner Lisa Hennessy had told her it was fine to give contestants the supplement. Michaels said, though, it is a “total lie” that contestants couldn’t have caffeine at all.

What Claims Has Jillian Michaels Made About The “biggest Loser” Docuseries?

Michaels made a second post on Instagram on Tuesday morning denying another allegation made in the docuseries: that she congratulated one of the “Biggest Loser” winners by telling him he just made Michaels a millionaire. In her post, Michaels shared what she says are texts between one of her unnamed business partners and “Biggest Loser” executive producers Mark Koops and Dave Broome, depicting the producers stating “no one is aware of any recording capturing such a moment.” In a third post on Instagram, Michaels denied an allegation that she restricted contestants from eating enough calories. She shared email correspondence with a contestant telling them to eat 1,600 calories per day, and shared additional messages with producers discussing keeping contestants nourished.

Are Jillian Michaels And Bob Harper Feuding?

In the docuseries, Harper said Michaels had not reached out to him after he suffered a heart attack in 2017. “That to me spoke volumes,” Harper said in the series. In an Instagram post Tuesday morning, Michaels shared the last text she sent to Harper, which is dated June 15, 2014. “I think it’s really sh*tty of you to not even respond to my texts,” stating it makes her “disappointed” in their relationship. Harper previously told Us Weekly in 2020 he and Michaels had not spoken in years. Michaels told TMZ’s Levin on Tuesday she and Harper had a “long and complex” relationship, adding: “Look at the documentary. That is what I lived with with Bob, the entire time.”