Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels is not buying into Lizzo's body positivity.
The Los Angeles television personality, who used to weigh 175 pounds as an eighth-grader, incurred the wrath of Lizzo fans after being accused of body-shaming the plus-size "Good As Hell" singer on Wednesday.
The former Biggest Loser trainer asked why Lizzo fans were "celebrating her body" instead of her songs during a controversial interview on BuzzFeed News' AM2DM.
"Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter? Why aren't we celebrating her music?"
"It isn't going to be awesome if she gets diabetes."
She tried to dial it back a notch by praising Lizzo's music but came back with sarcasm.
"I love her music. My kid loves her music. But there's never a moment where I'm like, 'And I'm so glad that she's overweight.'"
Trolls have been known to fat-shame the singer, and consequently, Lizzo announced she was quitting Twitter on Sunday.
@lizzo/Twitter
Celebrities like The Good Place's Jameela Jamil came to Lizzo's defense and berated Michaels.
Others went after the personal trainer for her misguided criticism.
Fans reminded Michaels of Lizzo's fierce athleticism on stage singing and dancing in heels night after night in addition to playing the flute.
Facebook user Stefan Brundage shared a quote from Melissa Florer-Bixler – a pastor from Raleigh Mennonite Church – who defended Lizzo and said:
"...the next time you hear someone opine that Lizzo is normalizing obesity, know that this is simply more fat-phobia disguised as health concerns."
People continued to school Michaels with some facts.
Michaels responded to the backlash on Instagram and wrote:
"As I've stated repeatedly, we are all beautiful, worthy, and equally deserving."
"I also feel strongly that we love ourselves enough to acknowledge there are serious health consequences that come with obesity -- heart disease, diabetes, cancer to name only a few."
"I would never wish these for ANYONE and I would hope we prioritize our health because we LOVE ourselves and our bodies."
Last month, Lizzo faced criticism from author Boyce Watkins, who said her fame was due to the fact that "there is an obesity epidemic in America."
Watkins tweeted:
"Rather than encouraging people to do better, we are simply lying to them and telling them that they are just fine the way they are."
"Unfortunately, many of these people are dying from diabetes and heart disease."
In response to Watkins' unwelcome insight, Lizzo disagreed and credited her popularity for reasons unrelated to her body image.
"I'm popular because I write good songs and I'm talented and perform high energy hour and a half shows filled with love."
"The only person who needs to do better is you."
"Keep my name out ya mouth & look in the mirror before you come for me."
We love you, Lizzo!
