Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels says she moved away from California because its move to the left got ‘too crazy’ for her.
Michaels moved with her wife DeShanna Marie Minuto and adopted kids Lukensia, 14, and Phoenix, 12, from Los Angeles, where she grew up, to Miami in June 2021.
She previously said the last straw was when her home was broken into by an intruder with ‘duct tape and a video camera’ who was let out of jail due to Covid.
Michaels frequently blames Governor Gavin Newsom for what she doesn’t like about California, and expanded on that theme on Sage Steele’s podcast.
The former reality TV star is the latest in a line of celebrities including Elon Musk and Sean Hannity to move from liberal-leaning states like New York and California to Republican-run ones like Florida and Texas that have no state income tax.
Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels with her daughter Lukensia, 14, whom she adopted from the Congo, and son Phoenix, 12
Michaels moved her kids, along with her wife DeShanna Marie Minuto, from Los Angeles, where she grew up, to Miami in June 2021
Michaels said the liberal state was decriminalizing crimes like drugs and prostitution, which she mostly supported, but not regulating it afterwards.
‘Some of these laws that are passing here are absolutely f**king mind-boggling,’ she claimed.
‘In relation to crime, protecting our kids, like, we’re decriminalizing everything, which arguably I would probably be okay with but we’re not regulating any of it.’
Michaels used prostitution as an example, saying she would say ‘yes, of course’ if it was followed up with regulation to protect sex workers.
‘You’re gonna decriminalize sex work but only so women can loiter on the streets, not to keep them safe, not to have them pay taxes, not to make them regularly check for STDs, not to take away the pimps out of the equation,’ she said.
‘I could be liberal! I could go there with you! I grew up this way!’
Michaels said she felt in California like she was very liberal, but over time the state’s politics shifted to the left and she stayed where she was.
‘I grew up here. I’m a woman. I’m a gay woman. My mom’s a Jew. My dad’s an Arab. I have a black kid. And believe it or not, my son is half Latin, even though he doesn’t look like it,’ she said.
Michaels said California was decriminalizing crimes like drugs and prostitution, which she mostly supported, but not regulating it afterwards
Michaels frequently blames Governor Gavin Newsom (pictured) for what she doesn’t like about California, saying she left specifically because of him
‘I hold a million cards in your game of woke victimology poker. And when I leave California, maybe you’ve lost your f**king mind. Just maybe! Like when you have me running from home, maybe it’s gone way too far.’
Michaels then returned to a topic she was frequently critical of – allowing sex changes for minors.
She was quick to point out she wasn’t anti-trans, she was just critical of children her son’s age being given ‘off-label cancer drugs to irreparably change their body’.
‘If my son came to me and said, ‘Mom’ – or my daughter – ‘I think I’m trans’. I’d say okay, you want to dress this way, You want me to call you whatever the heck you want… fine, explore it. I love you,’ she said.
‘I’m cool, do you as long as we’re safe, but we’re not changing your body until it’s fully developed. I’m sorry. Conversation’s over. Can’t get a f**king tattoo!’
The health expert last week enthusiastically celebrated the American College of Pediatricians calling on other medical groups to stop promoting puberty blockers, hormone drugs and gender surgery to children.
Lukensia was adopted from the Congo as a two-year-old in 2012 and in the same 24 hours her then-fiancée Heidi Rhoades gave birth to their son Phoenix.
Lukensia was adopted from the Congo as a two-year-old in 2012 and in the same 24 hours her then-fiancée Heidi Rhoades gave birth to their son Phoenix (all pictured together in 2016)
Michaels regularly goes after Newsom and said even Florida was ‘less crazy’ with him in charge, blaming his policies for her home break-in.
‘Guess who let the guy out during Covid, because I got the letter. Newsom!’ she said on Real Time with Bill Maher in February.
‘It was the guy’s third offense, he broke into our house, he had duct tape and a video camera. Anyway, long story, third strike, guy goes to jail, gets let out during Covid. I mean give me a f**king break.’
Not long after, she packed up and moved to Miami, insisting ‘I left because of him (Newsom)’ – but even that was dramatic.
Michaels called police on her movers from FlatRate and then sued them, claiming they damaged 80 per cent of her family’s belongings and lost $30,000 worth of clothes, tools, and outdoor furniture.
She later married fashion designer Minuto in July 2022, having split with Rhoades in June 2018. She has a 40-60 shared custody of Lukensia and Phoenix with her ex.