Jillian Michaels and the Case of the "Potentially Lethal" Diet Pill

Latest lawsuit says Biggest Loser star "sold her soul to the devil" to cash in on diet supplement that may be unhealthy

By Josh Grossberg Feb 17, 2010 7:25 PMTags
Jillian Michaels, The Biggest LoserMitchell Haaseth/NBC

Talk about a killer diet.

Biggest Loser star trainer Jillian Michaels is facing another weighty legal challenge: She's been hit with her third class-action lawsuit in a week for endorsing a diet supplement that supposedly doesn't work.

But the biggest bombshell in the latest complaint accuses the Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Fat Burner of being "potentially lethal."

Plaintiff Kathy Hensley claims in court papers filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court that the Michaels-sanctioned product is not only "worthless," but its blend of ingredients could cause major heart problems.

Other defendants in the suit are Thin Care International and Basic Research, the Utah-based companies that make and market the product, and Walgreens.

Hensley accuses the defendants of failing to disclose that a key ingredient, citrus aurantium, more commonly known as "bitter orange," can trigger high blood pressure and serious cardiac cardiac issues in certain individuals. And in lending her name, Michaels essentially "sold her proverbial soul to the devil."

"In essence, bitter orange is essentially a kissing cousin of Ephedra that's potentially lethal," Hensley's attorney, Aashish Desai, tells E! News.

"In the lawsuit they have to disclose the fact it can cause these severe risks and tragic results, and if people want to buy it from there, that's their prerogative. But as a supplement it escapes FDA regulation, and they can say whatever they want to say and use pseudoscience jargon to trick customers."

The latest lawsuit, which seeks less than $5 million in damages, comes about a week after the first legal salvo, accusing Michaels and cohorts of false advertising after the plaintiff followed the packaging ("two capsules before main meals and you lose weight...that's it!") but didn't shed the pounds.

A day later, a second suit made similar allegations, prompting the fitness guru to hit back with a statement defending the diet pill and her good rep and adding that she's prepared to duke it out in court.

Maybe they should try her Wii game instead.

UPDATE @ 5:25 p.m. PT: Michaels is going on the offensive, filing a defamation lawsuit against the attorney for the original diet-challenging plaintiff after he was quoted saying: "Telling people you take two magic pills and then eat chocolate cake all day is a deception." Team Michaels says that her product definitely doesn't make any promises based on baked-good consumption.

—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum

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