Jillian Michaels is no stranger to a feud over food. The trainer reignited her drama with Andy Cohen and Al Roker over the keto diet — and started a new feud with Teddi Mellencamp — during a recent interview.
“Like with keto — Al Roker and Andy Cohen — I was like, ‘Great, let’s have this debate!’ [They were] gone. Vanished! Bye, bye. Gone!” Michaels, 46, said the “#ADULTING” podcast with Zack Peter and Abigail Fraher on Tuesday, November 24. “You know, anybody who — paleo, vegan — I mean, bring it! So, you have to do your work and be prepared in order to put something out in the world that has staying power and that delivers on the results.”
The Biggest Loser alum made headlines in 2019 after she denounced the high-fat, low-carb eating plan, calling the diet a “bad plan for a million reasons.” Cohen, 52, subsequently made Michaels the “Jackhole of the Day” on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, noting that “a lot of people think Jillian Michaels is a bad idea.”
Roker, 66, for his part, tweeted at the time that Michaels “promoted on camera bullying, deprivation, manipulation and more … in the name of weight loss.”
Michaels came back swinging, specifically at Cohen.
“What’s so disappointing is that for years I’ve done the Today show. For years I’ve done segments with this guy. I was always greeted with the ‘Kiddo,’ right? And the big hug and the ‘How’s the family?’ and, like, I always thought we were homies,” she said on theSkimm’s “Skimm’d From the Couch” podcast of Roker. “I’m not just a fitness trainer. I have three certifications. I do continuing education. I’m a certified nutritionist. … Andy Cohen, I mean, is just not a nice guy. And I’ve said that for many years.”
During her appearance on “#ADULTING,” Michaels was also asked about Mellencamp’s accountability program, All In, which came under fire earlier this year.
“You know, these women are not, they’re not nutritionists. They’re not registered dietitians. It sounds like they’re not certified fitness experts,” Michaels said. “And it doesn’t sound like they got all of those individuals behind their program. And I could very well be wrong — I don’t know — but it doesn’t sound like they did. So, this is where I would say, look, get out of your lane. You don’t see me commenting on politics? I don’t understand half of these policies. I’m not an economist. I didn’t go to school to study foreign policy. You know what I mean? That’s not my lane … I would say, stay in your lane. And when you’re in your lane, do your work.”
While the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum has yet to publicly comment on Michaels’ remarks, she previously defended the program in September.
“I 100 percent feel confident in the fact that we let you know before signing up exactly what the program entails. If it’s something that you want to do and you want us to hold you accountable to your goals, we are there to do that for you. If it’s not something you want to sign up for, you don’t. That’s why I love that we are very transparent from the beginning,” Mellencamp, who dropped 80 pounds by changing her own lifestyle, said via Instagram. “We believe in you. We will fight for you, and we know that the best is yet to come.”