Rosie O’Donnell has some choice words for former late night host Jay Leno after watching Netflix’s documentary Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser.
“Jay Leno is a mean a**hole #biggestloserdocumentary,” O’Donnell, 63, captioned an Instagram post on Tuesday, August 19, sharing a photo of former Biggest Loser contestant Tracey Yukich from the newly released series.
O’Donnell was seemingly referring to the part of the documentary where Yukich was shown on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno after her appearance on The Biggest Loser season 8 in 2009. Leno, now 75, read death threats Yukich had received live on the show.
Us Weekly has reached out to Leno’s team for comment.
Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser has been making headlines since it premiered via Netflix on Friday, August 15. Former contestants sat down for the three-part documentary and detailed their alleged negative experiences on The Biggest Loser.
The Biggest Loser aired on NBC for 17 seasons from 2004 to 2016. The show returned for one final season in 2020, which aired on the USA Network.
Aside from her experience on The Tonight Show, Yukich also claimed that she nearly “died” after her first Biggest Loser challenge, which required her to run a mile on the beach.
“In my head, I’m like, ‘I can run, I’ve got four kids,’” she said. “‘I’m running after them all the time.’ But it was the longest mile ever.”
Following the challenge, Yukich experienced a medical emergency.
“I don’t remember a lot,” she added. “I remember hearing the helicopter. I just felt like I was floating. And then my grandpa was there. And then I saw darkness. But then I saw light. So I knew, I knew I died that day.”
The Biggest Loser became a cultural phenomenon when it premiered in 2004 — but the show has been plagued with scandals and controversy as well. When NBC introduced the show, it followed a group of people deemed overweight who would compete in a 30-week competition. The goal was to lose as many pounds as possible […]
Yukich claimed her body started to “shut down.” She was later diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a rare and life-threatening condition where the muscles start to break down after excessive exercise, per the Cleveland Clinic.
“It started with my liver, then it was in my kidneys and then it goes to your heart,” she recalled. “And that’s where I almost died.”
The show’s doctor Robert Huizenga recalled conversations about sending Yukich home after the experience, but she was “really angry” about the possibility of leaving.
“I felt like my weight and everything about it was something that constantly was bringing me down,” Yukich said. “I wanted to change my life, and I do feel like at that time that it was, like, my only hope.”
Yukich started the series at 250 pounds and ended weighing 132 pounds.
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