Jillian Michaels was on hand at the NBC TCA tour today in Los Angeles to talk all about the new season of The Biggest Loser and her return to the franchise. Telling a story about going to see Madonna in concert with fellow trainer Bob Harper and dancing around but hoping the pop icon would just sing “Holiday,” Michaels said most of her fans would come up to her and tell her they just wanted her to go back on the show already. What ultimately drew her back was a combination of things, including the ability to help tackle the childhood obesity epidemic.
But Michaels’ return is not without its own controversy, as within the first episode, she has a player walk off the ranch. Nicole “Nikki” Davis hinted at underlying emotional and personal issues she knew she had to tackle to help with the weight loss but never had a chance to fully share her story on the show.
We all know how the show feels about quitters, but Michaels explained that Davis' situation was different.
Michaels mentioned that over the thousands of people she has helped from the show and extended Biggest Loser community, some she does never see again, and some become like family (she even hired one as her assistant.
“The hope is that if they do run into any hardship, they’ll throw up a white flag, and we’ll always respond,” Michaels said.
But Davis has not done that yet.
“The reality of it is that there are people who are not ready for the process, and I tend to find that when they are not ready, it’s far more damaging than positive to push them. So I never really got anywhere with her—never even got to engage in any in-depth conversation,” Michaels said.
“We know she has a very dark past, and I personally don’t feel qualified to have handled Nikki’s situation. And I don’t feel The Biggest Loser was the place she needed to undergo the things she needs to get better.”
The Biggest Loser airs on Monday nights on NBC at 8 p.m.
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