Queen Latifah's Jenny Craig Commercial
At the gym yesterday, I saw that the Queen Latifah commercial for Jenny Craig is out—so I figured I should follow up on my original post about the issue. There was no sound, though, so I couldn’t hear it. So I just did a quick search and came up with an interview that is mostly about the Jenny Craig decision, and shows the commercial.
I like a number of things that Queen Latifah says in this interview—that she is “really content with” her body image, that she’s happy with herself at any weight, and that the weight loss for her is absolutely not an image thing.
I was also happy that she shot down the ridiculous interview question that seemed born straight from the fat stereotype handbook—something like, “is exercise your biggest problem, or is it not reaching for the macaroni and cheese?” (Her answer was that she is very healthy and exercise is not a problem for her, but that her big challenge is portion control.)
However, I don’t like the commercial. According to the interview, the concept is “just lose 5-10% of your body weight to improve your health and lower your risk of diabetes.” But the commercial is more a generic, “You go girl!” weight loss commercial, and I don’t buy that Jenny Craig is doing anything other than selling a diet that is way too expensive ($61 per pound, if you recall) and doesn’t work in the long run.
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advertising, Celebrities, Cold Hard Cash, Exercise, Health, Queen Latifah, Video, Weight Loss
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The commercial is infuriating to me. It’s not even about how it’s going to make her “healthier” – it’s how everyone is supporting her choice (patently not true!), and how maybe she can inspire others.
She used to inspire me by not buying into unrealistic ideals. Not so much right now.
Pssst.
This doesn’t have a lot to do with the post topic.
But your blog header is in the New York Times today.
I don’t understand why Queen LaTifah has to pair with Jenny Craig to help people get “healthier”. I believe it was mentioned here on this blog that Jenny Craig food is highly processed and contains HFCS, which has been correlated with weight gain. I know as someone with PCOS, I have to REALLY watch HFCS, because I can have a hypoglycemic episode, which usually entails passing out. Yay! Many people who have diabetes type 2 may have started out with symptoms like mine.
Anyway, I’m getting off on a tangent, but what I really want to say is this– why can’t Queen Latifah just promote healthy eating and exercise through some public service announcements? Why doesn’t she try to put pressure on the government to provide more parks and exercise opportunities for those living in both rural and poor urban areas? Why doesn’t she try to get involved in programs that provide fresh foods to people who live in areas where fresh food isn’t readily available?
If she’s really concerned about our healthy, why does it have to be a payday for her?
Just wondering.
I, for one, support Queen Latifah in anything she does because she’s big, she’s beautiful, and she represents. However, if she wants to fit in, let her fit in, if it means she gets better movie roles, let her get better movie roles. I may not think it’s okay or right, but she’s still a person and needs to make money some way or another.
But I do agree, the whole Jenny Craig experience is unrealistic. Why didn’t she just get a personal trainer? And the commercial was insinuating that she’s going all the way, not just 10-15 lbs.
I think it’s nice that she mentioned her partner by name in the interview, regardless of whatever else she said.
Wait…her “partner”?????
Let’s be realistic. It’s not about promoting health or better eating or exercise. She could have done that on her own. It’s about the money Jenny Craig offered her. They saw an opportunity to lure one of our “role models” into the fold and succeeded.
I think she should be able to make a living any way she wants and be whatever body size she wants… it’s just unfortunate it wasn’t a way we all approved of. She certainly has erased some of the glimmer I held for her.
(Thanks for sharing this, I hadn’t seen it yet).
I agree that it’s about the money and it’s a real shame. I can empathize with her decision that she wants to weigh less, but like Moe said, she certainly could do that without resorting to a prepackaged commercial diet plan. I think I would have felt differently if she had endorsed something like 24 hour fitness or the fresh veggie council(you know what I’m getting at) or something actually associated with health and not just weight loss.
What I like: She didn’t promote some porno-rific ideal of female sexual attractiveness. You know, the kind approved of by fraternity guys everywhere?
I did hear her say her partner, but didn’t hear a name. Not sure what that means.
I agree with those who say it is about money. It is also about attention and a career boost. We give an inordinate amount of attention to weight loss, because it is one way the average person can have their 15 minutes of fame. Ever notice that talk show audiences will applaud someone who lost 50 lbs harder than a Nobel Prize winner. The average woman can’t win a Nobel Prize, but she can lose weight and become “Thinderella” for the day. So, in preserving an honored status for those who lose weight, they are preserving their own hopes and dreams. Notice how many other revived careers depended on weight loss. There was Fergie (princess not singer) who was financially irresponsible, but became a saint after WW commercials. Even Monica and Bill got in the act for redemption. I would not even be surprised if some of the popularity of that slimmed down simpleton Huckabee was due to his weight loss and fat bashing. It is too bad we can’t reward people for being decent on the inside, or making a contribution to the community!
p.s. I hope we all know yo-yoing INCREASES the risk of diabetes. And diets don’t work. The Dieter’s Dilemma by Bennet and Gurin is excellent at explaining why!
Yes, queen is really a big beautiful. I like this. “Her answer was that she is very healthy and exercise is not a problem for her,” To be big is not equal to lose the ability of exercise.
I hate this because it’s just another way that the diet industry is trying to wise up to the fact that more people are realizing that DIETS don’t work, so they gotta revamp so they don’t LOOK like a diet even though THEY ARE A DIET.
Here’s the thing: you are not going to get “healthier” eating Jenny Craig or any other sodium-filled, highly processed food. It’s just an advertising gimmick.
I don’t *blame* Queen Latifah for doing this. It’s a money-making venture. She’s a celebrity and this is her business. But I am also not the type of person who is impressed into doing something because some celebrity is doing it. I don’t think she’s necessarily a sellout for doing it; but it does not impress me, either.
I have done very well with the jenny craig program and you don’t stay on their program and then suddenly quit a diet per se. It is more to do with restructuring your eating habits, portion control and getting used to eating more fruits and veggies. You get to a certain weight and then start incorporating the structure of the jc plan into you own menu plan and eat less and less of their food. My weight issue had to do with age, menopause and metabolism and severe restrictions on exercise due to chronic back problems. What the program has done for me has helped me reset my bodies set point/eating pattern ( I used to skip breakfast and sometimes lunch which slows your metabolism way down), get used to eating LOTS of fruit and vegetables daily and eating frequently (it has really helped my metabolism).
I needed the support and structure and it has worked. It may not work for everyone, but as far as my health and my weight it has been brilliant program for ME.
Just wanted to share my take on the program :)
all the best to you
jafabrit
I think Queen Latifah is gorgeous as she is, and while I wasn’t very unhappy with how i looked the weight was not helping my back.
I did Jenny craig and I noticed my health improved.
It is expensive and so if someone is going to pay you to go on the diet I say all the power to her.
It helped me learn tools to continue losing weight on my own after I lost my 10 percent. If I could have afforded it longer I might have joined it longer but I also found there is only so much of the jc cuisine I can handle but the point is it taught me better eating habits, it got me back on my exercise program and how to deal with my mind when it comes to the issues behind food.
Maybe the Queen will learn this too or other things.
Why people have to go around putting diets down especially when they haven’t tried it themselves is beyond me. I am also suprised about the big focus on yo yoing. People have to try things and if they don’t work try something else. I did research on the yo yoing being worse than staying overweight and they linked some evidence which means it is partly inconlusive because other factors may be involved either way they can’t prove it. Anyway there is way more proven evidence about how being overweight and obese can cause serious illnesses such as diabetes therefore I think it is safer to try and lose weight.
If you don’t want to lose weight than fine, why must people who don’t, put it all down. People can call it what they want but everyone is on a diet. Whether it is a fatty one, a healthy one, a diet just means how a person eats. People can use the word lifestyle for psychological purposes because the name got a bad rap but lets be realistic any weight loss regiman requires the same process portion control, not giving in to cravings, exercise, and a lot of hard work to keep with it regardless if we changed the name or not.
As for Q Laifah, I think it is nobody’s business to judge her, nor to lose respect or decide if she is wrong or right to promote JC, she is a person who can do whatever she wants just like you and I and because she is part of the public eye PEOPLE THINK THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO COMMENT ON WHETHER SHE DESERVES THEIR RESPECT OR NOT AND I SAY SHE CAN LAUGH AT YOU ALL ON HER WAY TO THE BANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS NOBODY’S BUSINESS BUT HER OWN DEAL WITH IT
Getting paid or not, sometimes you have to have a goal to look forward to. I am a fitness instructor–I usually only exercise when I teach. To motivate myself I usually enter small 5k races or some event that will hold me accountable for exercising & eating right. Once that event is over I start training for another. I say this to say–diet, exercise–lifestyle changes–it’s easier if you are accountable to somebody or some thing. Don’t knock the program, don’t mourn the junk you may have to give up. I’m sure we’d all join a program if someone were paying us. Be outrageously happy, eat right, exercise and be a good example to others.
Listen…She does not need your approval on this. Shes doing it whether or not you guys “approve” of it, so get over it. Even if shes doing it for the money shes still making a healthy choice and perhaps now she will be around longer then she would have if she didnt join jenny, didja think of that? Shes doing somthing good for HER body. so why does it bother you? Shes not forcing you to go on Jenny Criag,Shes not trying to prove anything. I respect her choice, because now she has a chance to live a longer life, no matter how she does it. Its not about selling out, or fitting in. Jenny is proven to work, and its probably easier for her busy lifestyle. Shes not asking for your approval shes trying to be healthier and thats all that matters!
BS.
She joined Jenny Craig for the money and decided to lose weight for LOOKs and NOTHING else.
Latifah is fat for chrissake! Her whole thing is about being overweight, which attracts the 99% of American women who are also fat. How is she going to sell weight loss?