Ruben Studdard is Team Rachel all the way. The American Idol alum showed support for his friend and fellow Biggest Loser contestant Rachel Frederickson on Wednesday, Feb. 5, amid controversy over the season 15 winner's shocking 155-pound weight loss, revealed Tuesday on the show's finale.
Asked to, ahem, weigh in on the debate over whether Frederickson, 24, had gotten too skinny, Studdard, 35, was very diplomatic. "The one thing I will say about my friend Rachel Frederickson is that she is a hard worker," he told Extra's Maria Menounos. "I've never seen anyone work harder to change their life than Rachel."
"The Biggest Loser is about making changes in your life, and she has most definitely done that," he added of Frederickson, who shrunk down from 260 pounds and a size 20 to 105 pounds and a size 0/2. "This young lady was a champion swimmer, a six-time state champion swimmer, and she had a lot of setbacks that made her turn to food to cope with those things."
"She's been able to overcome that, so I'm very proud of Rachel," he said. "I'm very proud of what she's become. She's the Biggest Loser winner, and that's all I know."
Studdard — who was eliminated from the NBC show in week eight, after being booted in week four and then returning in week six (because of an invalid weigh-in resulting from Jillian Michaels giving her team supplements) — shared trainer Dolvett Quince with Frederickson. "I'm really happy that my trainer, Dolvett, pushed me even after the show," he told Us Weekly at the finale. "He's one of those people who keeps up with everyone."
Indeed, Quince told Us he talks "all the time" to Studdard and is still actively pushing him to be healthier. "He's not done yet," Quince said. "Trust me."
Frederickson's evolution is ongoing, too. In a Facebook post on Feb. 5, Quince wrote that her health "is and always has been" his main concern. He added, "Her journey to good health has not yet ended!!"
