She puts the series’ success down to being in a “reciprocal cycle” with her audience. “I get feedback and letters every week from listeners about what an episode meant to them or telling me what I need to discuss next or what I left out,” she said. The podcast has attracted advertisers including Subway and Sky Sports.
“We’re not about liberal punishment or creating a punitive culture, we fight for the liberation of everyone with love and compassion,” she said.
I’ve given myself space to change and I feel the same way about brands
—Jameela Jamil, founder, I Weigh
Though the bulk of her audience is women, the brands she’s interested in collaborating with moving forward are ones that “mostly get advertised on men’s podcasts;” spots promoting technology and food or products that aid women’s physical performance.
“I don’t want to sell diet products that tell women to stop eating. I don’t want to be yet another reminder that women need to restrict and show their discipline via what their bodies look like,” she said.
Progress, not perfectionism
As an influencer herself, with more than 3.7 million followers, Jamil has a hard rule against working with any brand promoting a diet or weight loss product. Previous collaborations have included Tommy Hilfiger and lingerie and activewear brand Aerie.
Through I Weigh she was involved in petitioning and pushing Meta’s 2019 decision to stop allowing weight-loss brands to promote content to anyone under 18 on Instagram.
However, in the midst of the culture wars and the era of the social media takedown, she’s also not completely closed off to advertisers that are slightly “problematic,” so long as they want to move forward with feedback from her and the I Weigh community.