Jillian Michaels talks raising kids of different races in a polarized society

Fitness expert Jillian Michaels described in a new interview the complexities of raising children of different races and the unique challenges her white son and Black daughter face in today’s polarized climate.

In an interview that aired Thursday on The Hill’s “Raising America” podcast, Michaels expressed her concern about the growing tribalism in the country and about the trend toward restoring Confederate names to buildings and public spaces.

“I have a white son. I have a Black daughter. Right now, she’s celebrated at her school. People love her. She’s like a rockstar, and that’s great. But I’m also starting to see high schools in the middle of the country rename themselves Robert E. Lee,” Michaels said, referring to the general of the Confederate army during the Civil War.

“Like, that’s not good, not happy about that, don’t like that at all,” she added.

Michaels said she has separate concerns for her son, who hears often that he bears blame for crimes committed by other white people.

“And I have a son who’s white, and you know, when people tell him, ‘You guys are the problem’ — and he hears that narrative a lot — obviously, kids are super switched on. They’re watching politics on YouTube,” she said, pointing to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“Why do you think Charlie Kirk was so beloved? Not because he’s a bad guy. I’m saying because he was able to reach kids. They’re finding them on things like TikTok and YouTube,” she said.

“So when they're exposed to that messaging, and you tell them they're all bad, they will become tribal. That's the kind of stuff that alarms me,” she continued.

Michaels expressed grave concern, especially as a parent, about the rise in political violence and the “othering of people who don’t agree with you and the dehumanization.”

She blamed the so-called woke culture for what she perceives to be a rise in racism, saying the narrative that there’s something wrong with being a white person is “going to breed the next generation of racists.”

“I think that racism, I’m sorry, is on the rise, and I think it’s not because of [President] Trump, actually. I think it’s because kids are choking on woke culture and the narrative that they’re inherently bad for the color of their skin,” Michaels said.

“It’s not about putting white people’s feelings at the center of a conversation,” she continued. “It’s about the fact that you are going to breed the next generation of racists with this narrative, and that’s what’s actually scary. You know, we need to stop using this to rally a base and start looking at what it’s doing to our kids.”