{"id":1960630,"date":"2025-08-14T19:22:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T19:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1960630"},"modified":"2025-08-14T19:22:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T19:22:16","slug":"bob-harper-says-its-stupid-to-blame-biggest-loser-for-anti-fat-culture-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/bob-harper-says-its-stupid-to-blame-biggest-loser-for-anti-fat-culture-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Harper says it&#8217;s &#8216;stupid&#8217; to blame &#8216;Biggest Loser&#8217; for anti-fat culture boost"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em><em>The Biggest Loser<\/em><\/em> was one of the biggest things in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.out.com\/gay-tv-shows\/reality-shows-queer-couples#rebelltitem1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:reality TV;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">reality TV<\/a> for 18 seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The competition show featured a group of contestants battling to lose weight between challenges, temptations, and video cameras. The long-standing series featured <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.out.com\/popnography\/2015\/9\/09\/biggest-loser-gets-gay-host-bob-harper-taking-over\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Bob Harper;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Bob Harper<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.out.com\/entertainment\/popnography\/2013\/04\/24\/jillian-michaels-tour-maximize-life-biggest-loser\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Jillian Michaels;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Jillian Michaels<\/a> as cohosts.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Sign up for the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.out.com\/signup\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Out Newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Out<\/em> Newsletter<\/a> to keep up with what&#8217;s new in LGBTQ+ culture and entertainment \u2014 delivered three times a week straight (well\u2026) to your inbox!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Nine years after the show went off the air, Netflix is releasing a new documentary about the show, <em><em>Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser<\/em><\/em>. While promoting the new doc, Harper \u2014 who also appeared on the third season of <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.out.com\/gay-tv-shows\/traitors-season-3-cast-reveal#rebelltitem1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Traitors;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">The Traitors<\/a><\/em> \u2014 tells <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/14\/we-are-obsessed-with-weight-bob-harper-on-life-as-a-trainer-on-the-biggest-loser\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Guardian;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em><em>The Guardian<\/em><\/em><\/a> he is &#8220;really proud&#8221; of his time on the show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During the interview with <em><em>The Guardian<\/em><\/em>, Harper joked about a particular scene concerning Joelle Gwynn. &#8220;That Joelle, she just does not like me, does she?&#8221; he asked, adding he has &#8220;learned to not take things personally.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For context, the doc features Gwynn telling Harper, &#8220;Fuck you, Bob Harper. Oh, and your little dog too,&#8221; when recalling a time that Harper screamed at her to &#8220;shut the fuck up&#8221; after she failed a treadmill exercise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When the idea that the show contributed to anti-fat attitudes was brought up, Harper dismissed it as &#8220;stupid.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The trolls that are out there just want to attack in any way, because people are going to have such a strong opinion when it comes to weight loss.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.umsl.edu\/news\/2013\/03\/05\/biggest\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Multiple studies;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Multiple studies<\/a> have shown that <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22240725\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:indeed;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">indeed<\/a>, &#8220;anti-fat attitudes increase after brief exposure to weight-loss reality television.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When Harper is confronted with the fact that most of the contestants on the show gained their weight back after it ended, he admits that &#8220;the success rate overall is very low,&#8221; adding that &#8220;it&#8217;s really sad, but it&#8217;s such a reality.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He says that he tries &#8220;not to have too many regrets&#8221; in his life, but does admit that a few things on the show \u2013 including one moment where he told a contestant it was &#8220;good&#8221; she threw up because it would help her lose weight \u2013 were things he &#8220;shouldn&#8217;t have&#8221; done.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;You also have to remember, everyone that came on <em><em>Loser<\/em><\/em>, we were all adults,&#8221; he adds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I knew what the show represented to me,&#8221; Harper says. &#8220;I have nothing but a good experience and really good memories.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This article originally appeared on Out: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.out.com\/celebs\/bob-harper-biggest-loser-stupid-fan-reaction\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Bob Harper says it's 'stupid' to blame 'Biggest Loser' for anti-fat culture boost;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Bob Harper says it&#8217;s &#8216;stupid&#8217; to blame &#8216;Biggest Loser&#8217; for anti-fat culture boost<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">RELATED<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Biggest Loser was one of the biggest things in reality TV for 18 seasons. The competition show featured a group of contestants battling to lose weight between challenges, temptations, and video cameras. The long-standing series featured Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels as cohosts. Sign up for the Out Newsletter to keep up with what&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1960631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[344947,344946,345129],"class_list":["post-1960630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-bob-harper","tag-jillian-michaels","tag-the-biggest-loser"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Bob-Harper-says-its-stupid-to-blame-Biggest-Loser-for.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1960630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1960630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1960630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1960631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1960630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1960630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1960630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}