Jillian Michaels is spreading ignorant comments about Lizzo and her
weight. 

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

Tell health magazines to cut ties with Jillian Michaels.

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

Dear John,

Last week, popular trainer Jillian Michaels started making headlines, but
not for the supposedly health-positive work she normally promotes. During
an interview with Buzzfeed News’ AM2DM show, she commented on Black women
rapper and musician Lizzo’s body, saying “why are we celebrating [Lizzo’s]
body? Why does it matter...it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets
diabetes.”^1 These comments are mean-spirited and harmful; while Jillian
Michaels claims to makes these comments out of false concern for Lizzo’s
health, she is spreading misinformation and perpetuating stigma about the
health and habits of Black people of larger sizes.^2 It’s 2020 — it’s time
to expect more from public figures. We must hold Jillian Michaels
accountable for spreading these ignorant, hateful stereotypes.  

[ [link removed] ]Tell the health magazines Self, Women’s Health, and Shape to cut ties
with Jillian Michaels. 

For decades, doctors, nutritionists, and fitness gurus have focused on
weight when prescribing treatments for people’s “health.” And for decades,
these “experts” have been providing us with misguided advice, making
recommendations that, far too often, solely respond to whether or not
someone has a high body mass index (or BMI, a measure of someone’s weight
in comparison to their height), instead of listening to our health
concerns and making thoughtful recommendations. This has life altering and
deadly consequences for Black people. One Black woman in her early
thirties passed away recently when doctors ignored her complaints of chest
pain and shortness of breath, instead telling her to lose weight.^3
Another Black woman went to the hospital at age 16 with severe stomach
pains. Instead of diagnosing her inflamed bile duct, the doctor told her
“she’d get better if she stopped eating so much fried chicken.”^4 

These instances are the result of systemic, deep-seated bias against fat
people, which has a disproportionate impact on Black people, who, as a
result of systemic poverty, lack of access to resources, genetics, and a
variety of other reasons, are more likely to fall into a high weight
range. In a society where forms of oppression are inextricably linked,
Jillian Michaels’ comments about Lizzo and people of larger sizes are
doubly harmful to Black people, and make it that much more difficult for
us to live healthily and happily. 

[ [link removed] ]It’s time for media outlets to stop supporting Jillian Michaels’ bias.
Tell health magazines to cut ties with Jillian Michaels and stop tying
weight to health.  

But this isn’t the only problem with what Jillian Michaels’ said about
Lizzo. Michaels’ fatphobic comments neglect to consider the ways in which
Black women’s bodies have historically been and continue to be policed.
With centuries of slavery and Jim Crow laws in this country, Black women
have rarely been empowered to control our own bodies. Black women like
Saartjie Baartman — who was put on display in “freak shows” during the
1700’s and 1800’s because of her body — demonstrate this lack of
freedom.^5 In more recent years, Black women’s bodies have been used for
troubling medical experiments, like the gynecologic experiments James
Marion Sims conducted on Black women.^6 Today’s prejudice against people
of higher weight is an extension of these abuses, and Jillian Michaels’
comments are perpetuating this prejudice.  

In spite of Michaels’ comments, more and more often, health-focused media
outlets are responding to mounting research that disproves the correlation
between weight and health. As we learn to reframe our understanding of
weight’s impact on health, we can no longer tolerate the spread of
stereotypes that fuel stigma and discrimination against Black people and
people of larger sizes, put our people in danger, and make it more
difficult for Black people and people of color to get the care and respect
they deserve. 

[ [link removed] ]Join us in calling on Self, Women’s Health, and Shape magazines to stop
tying people’s weight to their health.

Until justice is real, 

—Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Jade, Johnny, Future, Amanda, Evan, Imani,
Samantha, Jenette, Ciera, Eesha, Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of the
Color Of Change team

References: 

 1. Twitter, AM2DM, January 8, 2020
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 2. What Celeb Trainer Jillian Michaels Got Wrong About Lizzo and Body
Positivity, Vox, January 15, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 3. Twitter, UpUpDownDown, November 7, 2019 
 4. Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong, Highline/Huffington Post,
September 19, 2018,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 5. The Significance of Sarah Baartman, BBC.com, January 7, 2016,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 6. The ‘Father of Modern Gynecology’ Performed Shocking Experiments on
Slaves, History.com, December 4, 2018, 
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

Photo: [ [link removed] ]NBCNews.com 


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