Mitchell Haaseth/NBCTalk about a killer diet.
Biggest Loser star trainer Jillian Michaels is facing another weighty legal challenge as 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 was 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 suplemment it escapes FDA regulation and they can say whatever they want to say and use pseudo science 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.
—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum
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