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Jackie, Oh!

Inspiring, sexy, and popular, Jackie Warner was the next great lesbian role model. Then a scandal rocked her reality TV series. Can a new book and new series rebuild her reputation?


JACKIE WARNER X390 (SYE WILLIAMS) | ADVOCATE.COM

As the bravo tv show Work Out bench-pressed its way into American consciousness over three seasons starting in 2006, gifts flooded in to Sky Sport & Spa. Most of the packages were addressed to Jackie Warner, the owner of the deluxe Beverly Hills gym and the star of the reality series. Clothing companies sent spandex shorts. Supplements companies sent bags of pills. And viewers sent mash notes. For many lesbians, Warner was an icon on par with actress-model Jenny Shimizu. For suburban housewives, she was a rare same-sex fantasy. For the overweight and undermuscled, she was hope for a better body. Some fans were so moved that they sent portraits they’d drawn or painted of the 5-foot, 8-inch superwoman, who resembles the love child of Pink and Scarlett Johansson.

“I got a lot of creative stuff,” Warner says. “A guy from San Diego painted my portrait. It’s modern pop art. It hung in one of my offices at Sky Sport for years.”

None of the pictures, however, made it onto the walls of Warner’s Hollywood Hills home. Although television cameras had been invited to capture her in bed with a girlfriend or at a dinner party where Warner’s friends would debate gay marriage with her Republican mom from Ohio, the artistic keepsakes from the show’s viewers never crossed the threshold.

“I painted every painting in my home,” says Warner, who keeps an art studio in back of her house. “[When I’m] at an exhibit I always think, I can do that. If I can create something, why not put my art up instead of buying someone else’s version?” She pauses. “It’s an ego thing.”

It was that ego that helped spark a backlash almost as soon as Jackie Warner’s star began rising. “I continue to be astonished at how highly Jackie thinks of herself,” one person commented on AfterEllen.com. Snapped another on BravoTV.com, “Jackie needs to take a class in etiquette.” Anonymous online flaming strikes anyone in the public eye, of course, but in this case it mirrored the fact that some lesbian viewers were souring on Warner. “We all hoped she’d be this great role model,” a gay viewer told me. “But she reinforced every bad stereotype, like out-of-control narcissism and having a girlfriend move in after one date.”

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Reader Comments
  • Name: graciela
    Date posted: 10/19/2010 12:00:19 AM
    Hometown: Panama

    Comment:

    Judge not unless you are willing to be judged yourself. If you base your anti- Jackie on one incident or comment she made that has blown up way over, then you should take a long look at yourselves. How many rude comments and sly remarks have you made about people while you were in the same room with them or behind their backs? What mistakes have you made that you wish you could take back? If she made the comment, then she made the comment. Should she be crucified? You all need to get over yourselves. First you condemn her for her comment being inappropriate, ok, then you bash her because she works people out til they threw up. Are you serious? Do you know that if you make your body do things its not used to, sometimes vomit transpires from toxins exiting the body. You ask for a break, hell give me a break. Condemn her for something that matters. Did she steal, cheat, or kill? What did she do besides be human. And yes, even business people make mistakes too. Live and Learn. It's life.

  • Name: SoCA resident
    Date posted: 6/1/2010 2:14:58 PM
    Hometown: Palm Springs

    Comment:

    Lesbian role model? Give me a break. She was unprofessional in her relationships with both her trainers and clients. She needs years of therapy, trainings re: boundaries, how to be classy, not crass, etc. which does not need to be televised. She also touted herself as a nutritionist, and quasi-therapist. I would never want her as a trainer.

  • Name: eileen cooper
    Date posted: 5/3/2010 4:42:56 PM
    Hometown: yonkers, ny

    Comment:

    I think Jackie Warner is the tops in the fitness field. Since she is human she may have made an error in judgement at that moment on her show, I did not see that show, but no one can top her in what she knows. She walks the walk and talks the the talk. I probably would raise an eyebrow at the remark but it wouldn't floor me to the degree that I would take her off the air. The woman is great in my opinion, there hasn't been another to come close. I for one, will watch her for eternity.

  • Name: Javier
    Date posted: 4/22/2010 1:50:47 PM
    Hometown: Houston

    Comment:

    Brian only wanted to fight with Jackie. He always did. Brian should have never been hired, you could tell he was a trouble maker a mile away. Jackie gave him too much room to screw around. I hope the lesson Jackie learned was heterosexuals are troublemakers and you should try to hire as many peaceful, respectful people as possible.

  • Name: G
    Date posted: 4/22/2010 12:54:27 PM
    Hometown: Chicago

    Comment:

    Wow, you would think she would learn, "She can’t help adding, “Now I am a role model on a much bigger level. So it feels comfortable for me.” Are you kidding me? After all the analysis this person hasn't changed one bit since her show was cancelled. She was caustic toward a client of her own gym and even encouraged the gossip that flourished on the show. That is NOT the way to manage a business or people. As a fan of the show I was appalled at how she dealt with Brian who was standing up for a client when she and her other employee where clearly caught by the cameras snickering like 6th graders about someone. Grow up! She deserve neither the attention, accolades, or wealth that's been afforded her.

  • Name: Javier
    Date posted: 4/22/2010 1:19:53 AM
    Hometown: Houston

    Comment:

    The four previous comments were made by haterosexuals no doubt. There was plenty of ego from the other trainers especially Brian but since they are haterosexual that doesn't matter. I liked Jackie a lot. She did her best. Unfortunately many took advantage of her because she gave everyone a long leash.

  • Name: Joe Reid
    Date posted: 4/10/2010 6:59:15 AM
    Hometown: San Diego

    Comment:

    Blah, Blah, Blah... She lost me after how she handled the firing of Brian on top of the breast thing. I'd not watch her show if I was paid to do so. She's disgustingly self-centered, rude, and is a role model to no one.

  • Name: sharon
    Date posted: 4/10/2010 2:14:10 AM
    Hometown: chicago

    Comment:

    This person shouldn't be allowed to "train" anyone. I had the misfortune of watching one episode where her "workout" literally made a client vomit. She's a loon and so is anyone that would go to her.

  • Name: Mike
    Date posted: 4/9/2010 10:13:51 PM
    Hometown: denver

    Comment:

    I wanted to like her and the show...but I just couldn't get past her and her self-absorbed-self. Ego-Ego-Ego......I can't imagine working for someone like that or wanting to be coached by someone who's just going to sit there and talk about herself the whole time. She's a female Jonathan Antin (another Bravo-egomaniac)....just give her a mirror to talk to instead....everything that comes out of her mouth is "I-Me-My"

  • Name: Ray Fleming
    Date posted: 4/9/2010 7:15:40 PM
    Hometown: Jackson, MS

    Comment:

    Bravo you just shot yourself in the foot with this one. No one wants to watch her with out the other trainers that were on the first show. She is bad enough in small doses. Oh and is it me or does she have plastic surgery fish lips in the second picture?????? I hope someone comes along and makes fun of her to her face over that one. Bring back the other trainers without her Bravo! We still like them.



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