Jay Leno Slammed As ‘Despicable’ After ‘Horrifying’ Resurfaced Clip Of Him Reading Death Threats To ‘Biggest Loser’ Contestant Goes Viral: ‘He Was Awful’
August 25, 2025 by Maria Pierides
Netflix dropped its highly-anticipated docuseries about The Biggest Loser on Friday, August 15th – and as expected, it caused quite a stir for many different reasons!
The docuseries, titled Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, explores the controversial weight loss show that ran from 2004 to 2016 on NBC, with a short-lived reboot in 2020 on the USA Network. The three-part series features contestants, trainers, producers, and medical advisors opening up about the intense pressures, extreme diets, and long-term health consequences the show created. And a resurfaced clip featuring one of the former contestants chatting with Jay Leno sent the internet into meltdown!
A clip of one of the Biggest Loser contestants recalling her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2009 appeared in the documentary, which comedian Rosie O’Donnell highlighted on her own Instagram page. O’Donnell, 63, voiced her disgust at how the talk show host was treating former contestant Tracey Yukich when she appeared on The Tonight Show, which included reading aloud death threats aimed at her.
Leno read out a message from a viewer that threatened to hit her with a car, to which Leno responded: “She wants to kill you, but she won’t use a swear word.” Yukich expressed how deeply hurt she felt by the whole thing, and said: “I didn’t know that I was a villain until the show aired.”
The comedian, talk show host, and actress, who appeared on Season 3 of And Just Like That, captioned her post, which featured a picture of Yukich sitting near Leno on the show: “Jay Leno is a mean [expletive.]” And as expected, a lot of her followers felt the same way!