Jillian Michaels Fires Back at Netflix’s ‘Fit for TV’ Documentary: “Folks Still Lie”

Michaels, who trained contestants from 2004 until 2011, declined to appear in the documentary. 

But after watching her name pulled into the storm through interviews with fellow trainer Bob Harper, executive producers, former contestants, and the show’s physician Dr. 

Robert Huizenga, she decided silence was no longer an option.

And in true Jillian fashion direct, relentless, unapologetic she took to social media with receipts.

The Caffeine Pill Controversy

One of the doc’s more eyebrow-raising accusations was that trainers skirted the rules by giving contestants caffeine pills. Michaels flat-out denies that. In fact, she insists the pills weren’t contraband at all.

“Caffeine was NEVER banned on The Biggest Loser,” she wrote, sharing screenshots of emails from 2009 that she claims back her up. According to her, Dr. Huizenga himself greenlit the use of caffeine pills during multiple seasons—and Harper not only knew, but had personally suggested contestants try “stackers fat burners.”

Netflix has not commented, nor has Michaels’ camp responded further to media requests.

The Broken Bond with Bob Harper

If the caffeine pill debate wasn’t messy enough, the documentary also drudged up a deeply personal wound: Bob Harper’s near-fatal 2017 heart attack.

Harper claimed in Fit for TV that Michaels, once portrayed as his on-screen ally, never reached out after he collapsed in a New York gym and spent nine minutes clinically dead before being resuscitated.

“To me, that spoke volumes,” Harper said.

Michaels clapped back with another screenshot this time, a text message she says proves otherwise. “I really think it’s shitty of you to not even respond to my texts. It’s this kind of thing that always makes me so disappointed in our relationship,” the message read.

On Instagram, she captioned the post simply: “Take from it what you will.”

The “Millionaire” Claim

Another headline-grabber from the documentary was the allegation that Michaels told a contestant at a season finale: “You’re going to make me a millionaire.”

Michaels didn’t mince words: “Unequivocally false.”

She pointed out that both she and the contestant were miked, the cameras were rolling, and if the line had been said, the audio would exist.

Screenshots of those messages of course were posted.

Accusations of Dangerous Dieting

Perhaps the heaviest accusation came from contestants who said Michaels encouraged dangerously low-calorie diets, sometimes dipping under 1,000 calories a day.

Her rebuttal? Receipts, once again.

Michaels posted what she says was an email to a contestant instructing her to consume 1,600 calories daily even while on break during the holidays. She also shared other correspondence with Harper and Dr. Huizenga emphasised the importance of adequate food supplies in the contestants’ shared house.

A Legacy Under the Microscope

The Biggest Loser remains one of reality TV’s most complicated legacies—part inspiration, part cautionary tale. For years, viewers saw dramatic before-and-after reveals without knowing the pressure, questionable methods, or emotional fallout behind the scenes.

Now, Fit for TV is forcing a new conversation about what happened off-camera, and Michaels is determined to keep her side of the story visible.

In her words: “Folks still lie.”