Aussie Trainer Michelle Bridges Says People Who Grow Their Own Produce Are 'Freaks'
Michelle Bridges, a trainer on the Australian version of The Biggest Loser, has her own line of microwaveable meals and snacks, sold at the Australian supermarket chain Woolworths.
Bridges has been facing much criticism lately because of a commercial she did to promote her Delicious Nutritious line. In her commercial, Bridges is gardening outside and eats "top soil" to eat produce grown in her backyard. She then said, "It's time to get real. Eating healthier doesn't mean you have to act like a freak."
The commercial was not received well. Many criticized Bridges for suggesting that microwaveable food is better for you than fresh produce grown in your own backyard.
Respect lost @MichelleBridges. Disgraceful. Plastic containers and microwave cooking over growing your own? Pathetic https://t.co/jY1wnKIIE9
— Lisa Gormley (@Lisa_Gormley) November 6, 2015
Insulted by @MishBridges & @woolworths suggesting I'm a freak for preferring fresh vegetables over frozen, over packaged ones.
— Tegan Whitten (@TeganWhitten) November 6, 2015
Bridges issued an apology on her Facebook page, saying that it was never her intention to offend anyone.
"As a fresh food grower myself and advocate for home cooking I have listened to your feedback and removed the posts [of the commercial], which caused [people to be] upset," Bridges said in the Facebook post. "As someone who works with many Australians, I understand that it's not always easy to cook from scratch every single meal. This is how my concept of Delicious Nutritious was born, so the wheels don't fall off your healthy eating plan."
BuzzFeed reports that the video has been taken down out of respect for their audience.
"We've listened to your feedback about the latest Michelle Bridges video and have removed it," a spokesperson from Woolworths told BuzzFeed.
Though the original video may have been taken down, others have uploaded the commercial onto YouTube. You can view it in the video below.