Michelle Aguilar is speaking up in defense of her former trainer Jillian Michaels following the recent release of the Netflix docuseries Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, which highlights some of the show’s most controversial moments. During the docuseries— which Jillian did not participate in— former contestants, as well as some of Jillian’s co-stars, made some shocking claims regarding her actions while she was a trainer for the show.
On Tuesday, Michelle— who was the winner of Season 6– posted a lengthy statement to Instagram in which she spoke highly of her ‘Biggest Loser’ experience, while also crediting Jillian for helping her along her weight-loss journey.
“ … She wasn’t just my trainer,” Michelle wrote of Jillian. “She was my motivator, my guide and sometimes the tough love I didn’t know I needed. Jillian has this way of pushing you past what you think is possible and somehow making you believe in yourself at the same time.
“There were so many moments I thought, ‘I can’t do this.’ But because of her, I did,” she continued. “And I’ll always be grateful for that. What makes it even more special is that the bond we built back then has only grown stronger. Today, I get to call Jillian my friend. And that’s one of the greatest gifts I could have ever imagined … .”
According to Us Weekly, Season 4 runner-up Julie Hadden also defended Jillian on social media this week, insisting that many of the allegations being made against her former trainer were false.
“I was Jillian’s contestant and I can attest to the fact that I was never starved, did not take weird drugs, was never treated unkind and consider having Jillian as one of the best parts of the show,” she wrote. “It has been 18 years and she still checks in on me.”
Danni Allen— who won Season 14 of ‘The Biggest Loser’ and was trained by Jillian— defended the show in a post to Instagram on Monday.
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“Here’s the deal…I can only speak to my season,” she wrote. “Was it extreme? Oh, absolutely. Working out 8-10 hours a day on very few calories isn’t exactly the picture of balance. But for me, it was still a positive experience. Did the show want ratings and money? 100%. It was television, not summer camp. But I chose to be part of it, and I’m forever grateful for the family I gained from the experience (love you, BL fam🩷).”
Former trainer (and later host) Bob Harper was featured in the Netflix docuseries, along with ‘Biggest Loser’ medical consultant Dr. Robert Huizenga and others who competed on or worked behind the scenes of the reality series.
Jillian’s name was brought up multiple times in the three-part docuseries, including during a discussion regarding the backlash she received in 2013 when she was accused of cheating by allowing her ‘Biggest Loser’ team to take caffeine pills, allegedly without receiving a doctor’s permission. Bob stated that he had no knowledge of Jillian giving her team caffeine pills, and Dr. H claimed that, despite working on-set with Jillian, they didn’t speak for the last 16 seasons of the show.
On Tuesday, Jillian began responding to various allegations made against her in the docuseries, beginning with the claims about the caffeine pills. Jillian posted to Instagram a series of screenshots from email chains, which she said proved that Dr. Huizenga did approve the use of caffeine pills for contestants “on many seasons,” and that Bob not only knew about the particular type of caffeine pills being distributed, but that they were “actually his suggestion.”
“ … I wanted to use my brand instead because they were cleaner and had no more than 200mg of caffeine (equivalent to a strong cup of coffee),” Jillian wrote, adding that, “Caffeine was NEVER banned on ‘The Biggest Loser.’”
She also disputed Bob’s claim on the docuseries that Jillian never contacted him after he had his heart attack in 2017, something he says was a reason for their friendship ending.
Jillian also hinted in her first post that she and Bob were already on bad terms before Bob suffered a heart attack in 2017, as she allegedly expressed to her fellow trainer via text in 2014 that she was upset that he was not responding to her texts.
In another post, Jillian denied telling a claim made on the docuseries by a former contestant, who insisted that Jillian commented during the finale that they were going to make her a millionaire.
Jillian insisted that she never said that and provided screenshots from ‘Biggest Loser’ executive producers Mark Koops and David Broome allegedly “verifying that no such comment was ever made.” (It’s worth noting that Mark did not appear in ‘Fit for TV’ but David did participate in the docuseries.)
Jillian also went on to deny the allegation that she “restricted contestants from eating enough calories,” by sharing screenshots of an email correspondence with a contestant from 2010, as well as what she claimed were “standard communications” with show producers and medical staff to ensure that contestants “were adequately nourished.”
‘Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser’ is currently streaming on Netflix.
RELATED STORY: Bob Harper Reveals Where His Friendship with Fellow Trainer Jillian Michaels Stands Years After ‘The Biggest Loser’
(Photos: NBC; Instagram; Netflix)
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