Fitness Expert Jillian Michaels Blames Gov. Newsom for Her Reasons for Leaving California

Jillian Michaels visits SiriusXM Studios in New York City on Jan. 6, 2020. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Jillian Michaels, a fitness expert and media personality, recently told comedian Bill Maher she left California for Florida over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “woke” policies.

“It feels less crazy than it does here,” she said on “Club Random with Bill Maher.”

Ms. Michaels said her home being broken into by a suspect with three offenses, who was later released based on Democrat Mr. Newsom’s soft-on-crime policies, was the final straw in her decision to move.

“He had duct tape and a video camera,” she said. “Anyway, long story, but it’s the third strike, and the guy gets let out during COVID.”

She also said her home had burned in 2018, which led to her resentment against Mr. Newsom’s bailout of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The utility corporation pleaded guilty in June 2020 to felony involuntary manslaughter for its role in what is considered the most catastrophic fires in California history.

What is called the 2018 “Camp Fire” was ignited by a broken electric transmission line and killed 85 people.

According to a 2021 ABC10 report, Mr. Newsom signed into law financial protections for PG&E, a corporation that had donated $208,400 to his 2018 campaign for governor.

‘The Rules Were Absurd’

Mr. Maher said he appreciated Mr. Newsom because “he can win.”

“I think he’s really smart,” he said.

Ms. Michaels went on to criticize the governor’s COVID-19 policies and what she described as his hypocrisy in telling the citizens of California to stay home and wear masks while he was seen at a high-end restaurant without a mask during the pandemic.

“The rules were absurd,” she said.

Mr. Maher implied that Ms. Michaels has been “captured” by focusing too much on right-wing media that has caused her to obsess “about the dandruff,” adding that Republicans don’t take government seriously while Democrats “actually know how it works.”

“You have to study it,” he said. “It’s arcane. It takes a lot of people in a lot of rooms at three in the morning with boxes of pizza and coffee and crafting laws that you’ll never read but affect your life, people who actually really get things done. Is he that kind of person? Yes, I think he is.”

Mr. Maher agreed that Mr. Newsom is “too far woke” but still thinks he should run for president.

Mr. Maher then abruptly turned to the issue of abortion, asking Ms. Michaels if she could imagine if she would ever need one.

Mr. Maher said one either supports it or doesn’t, emphasizing his position by stating that—if it is murder—he doesn’t care because “we have too many humans already.”

Ms. Michaels countered his argument, stating that there are “nuances,” and after a certain amount of time, it becomes murder.

“There’s a continuum,” she said. “And the answer, truthfully—no one is going to get everything they want here—is somewhere in the middle.”

Ms. Michaels also alluded to Mr. Newsom’s policies that support the transgender-affirming care medical industry, which itself has created its own culture of radicalism thriving in the state.

Mr. Maher agreed, stating that “California is a crazy state” and that, during COVID-19, he felt “much freer in Florida,” but that Ms. Michaels is focusing only on “theoretical things.”

Sylvester Stallone Announces California Departure

Most recently, “Rocky” star Sylvester Stallone announced on his television program “The Family Stallone” that he will leave California for Florida with his wife, Jennifer Flavin Stallone.

According to a National Association of Realtors report, more than 340,000 people left California in 2022, the Washington Examiner reported.

There’s been an increase in people moving out over those moving in, according to the National Movers Study.

“We have a lot of roots in California, so it’s not an easy transition to Florida,” the 77-year-old actor said. “But Jennifer really had her heart set on it. I gave in.”