Biggest Loser Caffeine Scandal
So was this past week’s “Biggest Loser” caffeine scandal designed to bring back Ruben Studdard? The former winner of “American Idol” was eliminated from NBC’s reality weight loss series on the Nov. 5 episode. His team lost the weigh-in and he had the lowest percentage of weight loss that week.
But during last Tuesday’s episode, host Allison Sweeney suddenly revealed that trainer Jillian Michaels broke the rules by giving caffeine supplements to her team members prior to the Nov. 5 weigh-in. Caffeine is a diuretic, which would help the contestants lose more water weight. Jillian was stone-faced as Sweeney said Jillian’s team would get a 4-pound penalty. And, the Nov. 5 weigh-in was invalid, so the eliminated contestant — Ruben — would return. I have to wonder, if it had been a lesser-known contestant that was eliminated, would they still allow that player to come back?
When asked by Allison for a comment, Jillian said in her opinion that caffeine supplements are safer than drinking unlimited amounts of coffee; and she was only sorry that her team members would be hurt by her decision. It seemed as though her response was given through gritted teeth. Even without the four-pound penalty, her team lost the weigh-in and Craig was eliminated.
Many fans have taken to social media to speculate that the whole “scandal” was a set-up to get Ruben back. If so, it really shoots down the credibility of the show.
During his post-exit interviews with media, Craig was quoted as saying that he thought the penalty was fair, and it wasn’t just a ruse to bring back Ruben. Hard to know if he’s just saying what he has to under his contract.
Jillian Michaels posted the following on her Facebook page: “Thanks so much for all your support. It means the world. I know you want to hear from me on this, but I am under a contract which prohibits me from truly discussing the matter in detail. Here are the facts. Caffeine is allowed on the show. Caffeine supplements have been used on previous seasons of the show. I did not ask permission to give the contestants the supplement. That was a “rules violation” allowing the producers to make the decisions they made. The supplement I gave the contestants is totally legal and all natural. It contains less caffeine than a tall coffee. There is no other metabolic agent in it and nothing in it the contestants don’t have access to. From here you will have to form your own conclusions. Much love.”
In a post at the beginning of the season, I shared my opinion that past attempts to boost ratings with celebrities has backfired. When Olympic gold medalist
Rulon Gardner was a contestant in 2011, a lot of viewers were initially intrigued. But, there were rumors from other contestants that he was arrogant with his teammates and broke rules. Then one night, Rulon abruptly walked off the show without even weighing in for the week, citing “personal reasons.” People were left to speculate whether he chose to leave on his own, or if he was forced off and the real story was glossed over to save face.
That fall, another celebrity athlete came on board, this time as a trainer. Former tennis star Anna Kournikova is gorgeous and knows tennis, but she didn’t seem to know much about motivating overweight people.
Ruben has charisma and seems well-liked by the other contestants. But for weighing 400-plus pounds, he’s posting some pretty low numbers. If he isn’t pulling his weight, so to speak, he shouldn’t take the spot of another hard-working contestant.
Up until now, I’ve enjoyed this season. The contestants seem to be getting along better than in years past (remember Contrary Conda? Icky Vicky?) And so far, teams haven’t had to vote someone off; the person falling below the red line is simply eliminated. I even liked the idea of having a trainer “save,” which gave Craig and Tanya a couple more weeks on the ranch.
I’m undecided about the one-hour format. The weigh-ins don’t drag on forever in an effort to make them more suspenseful. You would think there’s a lot of footage filmed each week for the producers to use, yet there was so much repetition.
But I miss the “where are they now?” segment at the end of the program, where the eliminated contestants show their current weight loss progress. Then you don’t feel quite so bad that they were kicked off the show. When it’s shown the following week, it doesn’t have as much impact.
It also seems that trainer Jillian Michaels is more supportive and less psycho this season. She’s not screaming and yelling as much — or at least, the viewers don’t see her doing it. Maybe she’s cut back on those caffeine supplements herself.