Jillian Michaels is quitting Biggest Loser again, so could the Rachel Frederickson scandal be to blame? The trainer was reportedly turned off by the too-thin controversy surrounding the most recent winner, and now NBC has confirmed the star’s exit.
“After helping hundreds of contestants transform their lives and inspiring millions of viewers at home, The Biggest Loser and Jillian Michaels have decided to part ways and she will not be returning for season 16 when it airs in the fall,” NBC said in a statement.
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This is not the first time Jillian Michaels has left The Biggest Loser. She previously exited the series in Season 3, only to come back a year later. She then exited after Season 11 so she could focus on being a mother. Michaels then re-joined the show in Season 14,  but it appears her return was short-lived. Her latest departure leaves Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince as the sole trainers on the show.
So why is Jillian Michaels leaving Biggest Loser this time? We think the recent Rachel Frederickson scandal played a big role in her decision. Frederickson made headlines when she appeared shockingly too skinny at the Season 15 finale, where she took home the grand prize for losing the highest percentage of weight. Many, including Michaels, felt the voiceover artist took her diet and exercise too far. Michaels was clearly one of those people, as her and Harper’ shocked reaction to Frederickson’s weight loss (seen below) went viral.
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Jillian and Bob Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels' reactions at the Biggest Loser finale revealed that they also thought Rachel Frederickson looked too thin (Photo: Twitter/maxwelltielman).
“She wasn’t happy with how last season went,” a source told E! News about Jillian Michaels’ dissatisfaction with Biggest Loser. “The shocking weight loss of Rachel [Frederickson] doesn’t do the brand any favors and she wants to distance her name from it.”
But while the controversy over Rachel Frederickson being too thin may have been the last straw for Jillian Michaels, it sounds like there were other factors that led to her Biggest Loser exit. For starters, the trainer was also reportedly annoyed with her portrayal on the weight-loss series.
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“They paint her [Jillian Michaels] to be an a--hole,” a source told Us Weekly. “She’s the only woman trainer, and she gets a bad rap. She’s sick of being painted as the bad guy.”  
Perhaps the most stark example of this took place last season, way before the Rachel Frederickson controversy creates waves online. Early in the season, Jillian Michaels was accused of illegally giving her White Team caffeine pills before a weigh-in. When producers found out, they declared that weigh-in invalid and reinstated the contestant who went home that week. It just so happened that the eliminee in question was American Idol winner Ruben Studdard, the most famous competitor of the season. After the scandal, Michaels tweeted that this was all just a ploy to get the popular Studdard back on the show.
Watch the Jillian Michaels caffeine pills scandal below.
We honestly don’t blame Jillian Michaels for leaving Biggest Loser. After all, the Rachel Frederickson scandal did leave a major black eye on the series. And we do think it was a bit too coincidental that the caffeine pill controversy took place the week Studdard was eliminated.
But that doesn’t mean we won’t miss Jillian Michaels’ presence on Biggest Loser. While her screaming did get a bit tiresome, she had a knack for connecting emotionally with contestants. And we enjoyed watching her relationships with both fellow trainer Bob Harper and the various competitors develop over time.