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Former Biggest Loser star and MAGA supporter Jillian Michaels is facing backlash after making controversial comments about slavery while defending Donald Trump’s review of Smithsonian exhibits.
On Thursday (August 14), Michaels appeared on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, where she argued against allegations that Trump’s Smithsonian initiative could whitewash history. Earlier this week, the Trump administration ordered a sweeping review of the Smithsonian museums to ensure their programming is "accurate, patriotic, and enlightening." The review follows a March executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which called for the elimination of “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” from federal cultural institutions.
“He’s not whitewashing slavery,” Michaels asserted in defense of Trump. “And you cannot tie imperialism and racism and slavery to just one race, which is pretty much what every single exhibit does.”
She went on to downplay the impact of slavery by noting that it’s “thousands of years old” and that only a small percentage of white Americans owned slaves.
Host Abby Phillip pushed back against Michaels’ comments, saying, “I’m surprised that you’re trying to litigate who was the beneficiary of slavery.”
Video of the panel discussion went viral, prompting backlash from historians, activists, and social media users.
Journalist Touré called out Michaels’ comments on TikTok, saying, “The point of the two percent stat talking point is to say it wasn’t that big a deal… Everyone who benefited from the American economy at that time benefited from slavery.”
Critics also took aim at Michaels’ parenting, questioning what she’s teaching her 15-year-old adopted daughter, Lukensia, who is Black and was adopted from Haiti in 2012.
“Someone rescue that child from this woman, this is how [Clarence] Thomases are made,” one YouTube user wrote.
“For a white person to adopt a Black or POC child in this very racist world is damned serious business, and in my opinion, only the truly self-aware anti-racists among them have any business doing it," another said.
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