Jillian Michaels fires back after far-left writer calls her a 'White nationalist' in viral Islam debate
Fitness guru Jillian Michaels had sharp words for far-left writer Wajahat Ali during a clash that went viral over Islamic extremism on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" this week, informing him she was of Arab descent when he accused her of being a "White nationalist."
Michaels, host of the "Keeping It Real" podcast, appeared on a panel Monday with Ali — co-host of the "Democracy-ish" podcast — along with The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur, "Unfiltered" host Roland Martin and pro-Israel commentator Emily Austin. The panel was assembled to discuss the mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia on Sunday.
In her initial remarks responding to the attack, Michaels said she believed that the vast majority of Muslims worldwide are peaceful, but warned that even a small percentage of extremists could pose a significant threat. The suspects in the massacre are alleged to have been inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group.
"But if 10% wants to bring down the West, you're looking at a heck of a lot of people. You're looking at like 200 million people," she said. "So, what do you do about that? And yes, there are amazing heroes like the man who tried to stop them. But guys, when you look at the fact that there have been 64,000 terror attacks since 9/11 that were committed by radical Islam, 243,000 people died in those terror attacks. And you're saying all religions? I mean, not really. Not really."
Michaels also argued that much of what is labeled "Islamophobia" stems from fear of extremist ideology rather than Muslims as a whole:
"What I think they’re afraid of is an ideology that is not in alignment with the West — and it’s not the vast majority of Muslims," she said. "But when it’s, let’s say, 10%, it’s still a lot of people. These are statistics."
Ali, who is a Muslim, strongly objected to her characterization, saying her numbers were outdated and inaccurate. He cited recent examples of Muslims intervening to stop terror attacks in both Australia and Germany.
BYSTANDERS SEEN CONFRONTING AUSTRALIAN GUNMAN DURING ISIS-INSPIRED DEADLY RAMPAGE
"I let you say a lot of hateful, stupid, reckless things about Muslim Islam, and I just sat there," Ali said as Michaels interjected to defend her point.
Michaels replied, "Would you like to say 1%? That’s 20 million people."
Ali then accused Michaels of previously calling herself a White nationalist.
"Jillian, you are, by your own admission — you by your own admission, are a White nationalist… You admitted it. I saw the clip," he claimed.
Michaels, visibly confused, rejected the accusation immediately.
"You know I’m Arab, right? I’m Syrian and Lebanese and Turkish," she replied.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
As the two spoke over each other, Ali repeated his claim that such a clip existed, while Michaels forcefully denied ever making such a statement.
"When did I say I was a White nationalist?" she asked.
Ali then backed off, saying he may have been mistaken and was relieved to hear she was not a White nationalist. The debate ultimately moved on.
The clip went viral on X after being shared by the Washington Free Beacon and Defiant L's.
It remains unclear which clip Ali believed showed Michaels calling herself a White nationalist.
In a separate interview earlier this month on "The Megyn Kelly Show," Michaels sarcastically joked that she was "a White nationalist now" while discussing online critics who mischaracterized her comments in an August CNN segment about the Trump administration's anti-DEI policies. The comment was made in jest, not as a description of herself.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ali for comment.