Shannan Ponton, a former trainer on the Australian version of The Biggest Loser, has weighed in on the controversial documentary Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser.
ICYMI, Netflix released the doco earlier this month, and it explores the dark side of the weight loss reality show with input from former contestants and producers.
Fit for TV is filled to the brim with bombshell revelations regarding the US iteration of The Biggest Loser, including claims that contestants were sleep-deprived, malnourished, and bullied by trainers including Jillian Michaels.
Now, Ponton — who was the blue team’s trainer throughout his years-long stint on The Biggest Loser — has offered his thoughts on the doco, saying in an interview earlier this week that the ex-contestants who appeared on Fit for TV were trying to shirk responsibility.
“It was everything that I thought it was going to be,” Ponton said of the documentary in an interview with KIIS FM’s Robin & Kip with Corey Oates. “It was exactly what I thought.”
“[Contestants] were looking for, I guess, a way out [rather than] to take responsibility for where they’re at,” Ponton added.
He went on to address the backlash coaches received for yelling at contestants during training sessions — an aspect of the show that was detailed in the documentary — saying “that’s how trainers and coaches are in their primal state”.
“I was nobody’s puppet, and everything I did was done with the pure heart and of course there are times where you become frustrated,” Ponton said.
“What’s fascinating is that people were saying, ‘Oh, you’re just belittling these people because they’re fat. You’re making a show on them because they’re fat,’ and it’s not true.
“That’s how trainers and coaches are in their primal state,” he added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ponton stood by the weight loss methods he used for The Biggest Loser, after the documentary found that most contestants regained their weight back once they left the show.
“Disappointed, but not surprised,” Ponton said of castmates’ post-show weight gain, “but it’s not a flaw in the system”.
“The system and the methods that we provided to the contestants, still to this day, I still believe in,” Ponton said.
“I was never told to do anything. Everything that I did on the show, I did with the best intent and to try and get the best possible results for the contestants.”
While he largely defended his time on the show, Ponton conceded that contestants should be given “post-show psychology” — something the documentary revealed was not on offer for US castmates.
“I think weight loss in the world has changed a lot in the last 20 years,” Ponton said.
“There is probably merit in some of the points that the ex-contestants had as far as they could have benefited a lot from post-show psychology or post-show help in that area,” he added.
It comes after Michaels threatened to sue Netflix over Fit for TV, accusing it of promoting “literally just lie upon lie” and floating the idea of her own doco explaining her and some producers’ side of the story.
Lead images: Channel 10
The post Former Biggest Loser Coach Shannan Ponton Weighs In On Controversial Netflix Doc appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
