'I think everything about me is sexy:' Idol winner Ruben Studdard is confident despite weighing in at 462 lbs on The Biggest Loser
He’s the Biggest Loser’s heaviest contestant this season at 462lbs.
But Ruben Studdard isn’t lacking in self-confidence, proclaiming that everything about himself is sexy.
In a clip from tonight’s season 15 premiere, the 2003 American Idol winner is seen standing up to trainer Jillian Michaels after she tells him he needs to wax his hairy back.
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Sexy: After criticism from trainer Jillian Michaels on The Biggest Loser, Ruben Studdard hit back saying he knows he is sexy
‘We're going to have to wax that back of yours, I'm telling you right now,’ a horrified Jillian tells Ruben. ‘It's not even [just] back hair - there's an inch-and-a-half of shoulder hair! That is totally unacceptable!’
However, defiant Ruben hits back, saying: ‘Jillian is a hater. I don't appreciate that! I think everything about Ruben Studdard is sexy!’
Putting him through his paces: Jillian has been tasked with helping Ruben and the other contestants to lose weight
In the sneak peek, Ruben also recovers from a tough workout by taking an ice bath.
Studdard has seen his weight climb since he won the second season of American Idol in May 2003 after beating out Clay Aiken by just 134,000 votes.
The Biggest Loser season premiere: Oct. 15
Defiant: Ruben, who weights 462 pounds, hit out at Jillian as a 'hater' and insisted he is sexy
He is competing on the NBC weight loss show both to conquer his obesity and scoop the $250,000 winning prize in the process.
Ruben has had varied success over the years with his battle to lose weight but this time he sounds serious as he attempts to finally get it under control.
'That is totally unacceptable!’ Jillian begged Ruben to allow her to wax his hair back and shoulders
'I've never had an issue with my weight," Studdard told People.
"[But] my family has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart-related issues – things I didn't have to deal with yet because I'm young.
Disapproving: Jillian didn't approve of Ruben taking an ice bath after a particularly gruelling workout
'But I don't want to be worried at 40, and if I don't fix things now, I will be.'
Dubbed 'The Velvet Teddy Bear' because of his silky smooth voice Ruben even trained with celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson in 2006 but that did not pan out the way he wanted.
Positive: Despite struggling with his weight for years, Ruben is positive about the challenge on The Biggest Loser
The singer attempted an intense workout routine with Peterson while consuming around 1,200 calories per day but the weight did not fall off.
'I was losing weight, but I was exhausted. It was making me sick,' he told People back in 2006.
'I'm a big man. There was no ways to do these workouts on that amount of food, so everything was contradicting itself.'
Not a fan of manscaping: Ruben hit back after Jillian insisted she wanted to wax his hair back and shoulders on the show
Ruben only lost 12 pounds under Peterson, whose clients have included Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson and Kim Kardashian.
The singer later converted to vegetarianism and started exercising more, resulting in him losing 70 pounds from his 455 pounds original weight but this has since crept back on.
The German born star divorced his wife of three years Zuri McCants in 2012.
Defiant: Ruben stood up to Gillian after she criticised him on The Biggest Loser
Tough job: Jillian's role on the NBC show is to help get the contestants in shape as they aim to lose weight
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