The viral roundtable discussion on CNN’s “News Night with Abby Phillip” featuring fitness trainer Jillian Michaels is still garnering attention and drawing criticism online.
“The Biggest Loser” TV star turned MAGA influencer was invited as a guest panelist on Phillip’s show earlier this month.
During a discussion about possible federal changes to national museums and cultural centers — like the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center — to ensure they align with President Donald Trump‘s vision of America, Michaels defended the efforts.
Michaels claimed that Trump is not “whitewashing slavery” and that history museums “cannot tie imperialism and racism and slavery to just one race, which is pretty much what every single exhibit does.”
Trump recently went after the Smithsonian museums, claiming they focus too much on “how bad slavery was.”
Michaels furthered her claims with what Phillip called a “misleading statistic,” stating that “only two percent of white Americans owned slaves.”
“That’s an incredibly misleading statistic because even the Americans who did not own slaves also participated in slavery by benefiting from the economic system of slavery, the political system of slavery, and, culturally, treating Black people as if they were not human,” Phillip said in some follow-up remarks she posted to Instagram.
Michaels is still taking Phillip to task over the CNN anchor’s criticisms.
During an Aug. 22 appearance on NewsNation, Michaels accused Phillip of making false claims about racism. She emphasized the importance of telling both sides of history to avoid extremism and argued that labeling arguments as racist to silence opposing views actually dilutes the meaning of the term.
She also accused Phillip of misrepresenting the facts.
“Well, in that same interview, a clip, a clip you just showed from that interview, she flat out lies and says we were just having a conversation about the arts, and she just randomly brings this up when, “Michaels said. “If you actually watch the entire clip, it is Julie Rajinski, who refers to parts of the MAGA base as racist, makes a Hitler reference again to Trump, and then says, slavery is bad.”
Michaels’ in-point-of-fact argument about slavery being utilized by empires across the globe for thousands of years was used to defend her remarks. Still, it neglects to address the institutional ramifications of chattel slavery on the United States, specifically, which is what American history museums like the Smithsonian do.
Also, research shows there was a much higher percentage of people who benefited from or had a direct stake in slave-owning households in the American South.
Michaels has been defending her statements since her appearance on “News Night,” on social media, and on other news shows.
Phillip has also continued to challenge Michaels’ statements, as well, but conservative media pundits like Megyn Kelly are now accusing her of “attacking her guests.”
Many people who agreed with Michaels’ sentiments shared their disdain for Phillip’s show and attacked her character.
“Abby Phillips is horrible. She won’t hear nobody’s point except her own,” one person wrote on YouTube.
“Abby Phillips is insufferable and makes my ears hurt!!!!! She is so full of herself and her vanity is nauseating! She thinks she is so smart and has a Joy Reid vibe,” another said.
Others are still dissenting against Michaels’ remarks.
“Hey Jillian, maybe take advice from decent human beings and stop trying to marginalize the history slavery in the United States,” one X user wrote.
“Try some logic here. The point isn’t when slavery started, it’s what we did about it, and how its legacy still shows up. That’s the conversation,” another person added.
