Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels pushed back Monday after New York Times contributor Wajahat Ali accused her of being a “white nationalist.”

At least 15 people were killed Sunday when two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where hundreds gathered for an event known as Chanukah by the Sea, according to officials and media reports. During a discussion on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Ali criticized Michaels’ comments about Islamic extremism, saying that her arguments were outdated, and then he went further, flatly calling Michaels a white nationalist.

“What I’m trying to say is that when people are labeled Islamophobic, I think what they’re often reacting to is an ideology that is not aligned with the West, not the vast majority of Muslims. Even if it’s, say, 10 percent, that is still a large number of people, and those are statistics,” Michaels said.

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“Individuals who were radicalized, we don’t know how, and saw Jews as the target through their dehumanization. There are 1.7 billion Muslim people on earth. Jillian’s talking points are from 2001, which is why I yawned. The DeLorean right now is in 2025,” Ali said. “Jillian, I know you’re discovering this. Congratulations. Let me just finish. I let you say a lot of hateful, stupid, reckless things. Jillian. You are a white nationalist. By your own admission. That’s what you are, a white nationalist. You admitted it.”

Michaels immediately cut in, dismantling the accusation with a personal fact Ali appeared unprepared for.

“You know I’m Arab, right? I’m Syrian and Lebanese, and Turkish. When did I say I was a white nationalist?” Michaels asked.

“OK, wasn’t there a clip of you saying you were a white nationalist? Oh, you’re not a white nationalist?” Ali asked.

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After Michaels denied the accusation, Ali backtracked.

“Interesting to know. All right. I’m under the mistaken impression. I thought you were a white nationalist. I’m glad you’re not,” Ali said.

Michaels’ paternal grandparents were of Syrian and Lebanese origin, while her maternal grandfather was the son of Italian immigrants, according to IMDB. Her maternal grandmother was born in Salford, England, to a Russian Jewish father and an Austrian Jewish mother. There are no credible articles, profiles, or documented write-ups showing that Michaels is a white nationalist.

Leftist writer Ali, who frequently writes about the Muslim American experience, identity, and social justice, is a Daily Beast columnist and former New York Times op-ed contributor whose work often focuses on Islamophobia, race, immigration, and cultural inclusion.

Earlier this month, Ali launched a racially charged rant telling white Americans that “brown people” were “breeding,” responding to President Donald Trump’s pledge to end “third world migration.”

“The mistake that you made is you let us in in the first place. That’s because brown people, and I am going to say this as a brown person, there’s a lot of us, like a lot. There’s like 1.2 billion in India. There’s more than 200 million in Pakistan. There’s like 170 million in Bangladesh. Those are just the people over there,” Ali said.

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