'Biggest Losers' Called 'Monkeys' By Trainer

By Rob Shuter Posted Jan 6th 2010 06:00PM

In what we hope was simply just the wrong word at the wrong time, 'Biggest Loser' trainer Jillian Michaels has her Facebook fans in a tizzy thanks to a post in which she refers to the hefty 'Loser' contestants as "monkeys." Talk about working people into a sweat! Details on Jillian's controversial slip, plus Hollywood pooches after the jump!

Jillian Michaels Calls 'Loser' Contestants "Monkeys"

Fitness guru and 'Biggest Loser' trainer Jillian Michaels, who just publicly expressed her genuine concern for the medical safely of the contestants on 'The Biggest Loser,' is calling her overweight subjects "Monkeys" on her Facebook page.

Jillian shocked her Facebook followers on December 30 when she posted this little ditty about getting back to work with 'The Biggest Loser' participants whose lives she was hired to improve. "My baby is FINALLY home. So funny. I never used to care bout being away from people I dated. I loved having the space. Now, I seem to count the seconds. Am I getting old and soft? Get a few hours together and then I am off to BL. Monkeys are back on campus. Work to be done."

More than 680 people commented on the status update, with some questioning what exactly Jillian meant with the term "monkey." One user named Emily Adams optimistically hoped Jillian "doesn't literally mean that she thinks they're less evolved from the primordial ooze than she is." Jillian's fan Barbara Stuart says "I think using the term 'monkey' is very offensive."

Jill Carmen, a rep for NBC, tells me that Jillian meant nothing with the word. "It's a term of endearment," Carmen told me.

Let's go ahead and give Jillian the benefit of the doubt that it was simply an innocent term of endearment gone awry rather than a slur towards her multi-racial cast. Despite all that yelling, she seems nice enough, but Jillian -- getting older, softer and wiser is something that might not be such a bad thing.

Hollywood's Top Dogs

If you want to see private never-before-seen shots of Carrie Underwood, 'Entourage' star Adrian Grenier, Charlize Thereon and Jessica Alba all with the "loves of their lives," forget about Us Weekly -- pick up a copy of Animal Fair Magazine's 2010 Celebrity Pet Charity Calendar, where "the dogs are the real stars since the celebrities would not SIT," quipped Animal Fair's Wendy Diamond.

'American Idol' winner Carrie Underwood is with Ace, her Rat Terrier, by her side while Grenier would rather be cruising Hollywood Boulevard with no one but Honeybee, the dog he rescued from New York Animal Shelter. Awwww, he's cute and sensitive!

Oscar takes second place in Charlize Theron's life to Denver, Tucker, Orson and Dellilah -- who are all pup-arazzi ready!!!

Levi's Bold Request

Has Levi Johnston officially lost his mind? That answer is a big fat YES. Friends tell me that the hunk from Alaska actually thought he would be asked to present at this year's Golden Globe Awards in Hollywood. Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Steven Spielberg and Matthew Fox, who all will be presenting are the sort of talent that Levi now considers himself to be amongst. The kid's got quite a pair -- even if we never got to see it in Playgirl!

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Tags: biggest loser, BiggestLoser, Jillian michaels, JillianMichaels

Comments

(86)

Wednesday 06 January

By leroy

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They are monkeys.They need to be trained to lose weight,these monkeys can`t do it on their own they need to be lead to it and told over and over again to push themselves just like a bunch of monkeys..UH UH UH WHATS THAT ?? FIRST AGAIN ?? YEAHHHH !! YOU KNOW IT ..DON`T HATE CUZ YOU`RE SECOND..UH UH UH WHAT ?? WHAT ??

By emily

Dummie, you can't train monkeys that way.

Thursday 07 January

By Anita

Low Ranked Vote down Vote up Report this

Leroy, She didn't call them sheep, she called them monkeys. Sheep is negative monkeys is not. Monkeys: Full of energy, boisterous, happy.

Thursday 11 February

By Mel

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Leroy knows because it did NOT work with him.

By rb

Jillian is a bit*h.

By tiny bob

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

monkey see monkey do . how many thosuands of people for years call their todlers my little monkey . instead of saying monkey what if she said APES'. THANK GOD SHE DIDN'T SAY FAT ASSES HUH .

Friday 08 January

By bunny

I can only imagine if the contestants were black how Jesse & Al would be all over this like a cheap suit...

By brad

now THAT would be a reason for people to get mad lol.

By blootle

I watched her on Leno last night and she seems to me to be a really nice person. I love her smile and her laugh.

People need more and more chill pills these days. I seriously doubt she thinks of these poor souls as simians. I see it as the classic term of endearment for people who are exasperating that you're emotionally invested in. Is there any mother out there who hasn't used this term?

By Access

I call my kids monkeys...everyday, no big deal. People need to chill out

By Linda Heath

I can't imagine her meaning any harm by that statement. Surely she is smarter than that. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

By Mandi P

People believe what they want based on appearances. This is an example of because someone "looks" good, then what they "say" must be deemed as good too. Sorry, I'm not going to take a "cup of instant smile" and brush this thinly veiled put down off and I am glad Rob Shuter the writer here didn't either. She called the contestants to her game show -- monkeys. Jullian is not their mom, not their relative. She's a hostess of a friggin' game show where the one who loses the most weight gets 250k. Instead of standing by a toaster or car, she exercises them. That is all it is. The contestants are her fresh meat, a paycheck, NOT family.

By ccrider

I can not wait until one her "Monkeys" punch her in the mouth...she should have been thrown off this show a long time ago...she is no role model for ANYONE. She is turning into a man with all her arm lifts..

By Ashlee0627

Yet a lot of the people who have won BL have been trained by HER...hmm..

Wednesday 10 February

By pamela

I totaly agree with you. I hope Jillian gets punched in the mouth really hard and she gets fired.

By trejj1

Even though i have not used this word "monkey" in an endearing way to my daughter, the way she jumps around and is so active i can see me calling her my lil monkey, thing is i love my daughter and even though jillian care and will in time love some of these people im not sure it was said so endearing. she seemed to be calling them monkeys out of a spite and alittle anger cause she has to go back and train them and leave her precious boyfriend. so though i dont believe jillian is a bad person in any way i still dont think she was saying it a good way.

By Jen

People may call their own children monkeys, but Jillian needs to remember that these contestants are not her children - she needs to treat them with respect and dignity. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there for the whole world to see.

By Lauren

If you look in her facebook pictures she has a picture of her godson and calls him a little monkey. Hell, I call my best friend "monkey" as a nickname and there are no racial connotations...She used to climb up on my wardrobe in college, long story. Anyway, to me, it just seems to be her general purpose term of endearment. It has no racial undertones, no negative meanings, it's just a word. People are taking this way too far.

By goose

we all have terms of endearment - some different than others - move on ... not everything needs to be analized to the point of racism, hurt, etc. She uses a lot of motivational language... if anyone watched you may remember "dead daddy".... Really, does anyone out there think that, knowing that she is such a public figure, think that she would jeopardize herself like that?? She ismuch more intelligent than that !!!

By toska247

this is very funny , irans religious leaders live in luxery , hahaha , check the ones who live right here in the good old of usa , the crouches and all the rest , live in luxery noone can even imagin , all from stolen money from trusting people , who cant see a scunk in their bed , none should donate anything to those religious what ever the call themselfs , its phony and bogus , religion doesent mean a thing to them , nothing , but gertting big bucks from trusting people means everything to those crooks and the couldend care less what kind of phony religious stories the tell the people , everyone of them on that religious channel should be checked out 1000%

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