Entertainment
ByBrandon Bombay/
Deanna Colón is the actor who starred in the 2023 Jardiance commercial that caused a stir among fans. In the ad, she dances with a group that looks as if they're straight out of a musical while singing praises about the diabetes drug with a giant smile on her face (all the while undergoing several wardrobe changes).
The Jardiance singer became somewhat controversial when the company used another actor in their 2024 TV spots. When fans asked why she had been replaced, she had no concrete reasons. "Dunno buddy. Time for change?" she replied to one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter.Similar to Flo from Progressive, Colón's real-life appearance strays from her ad persona. "I don't think I look anything like myself," she told John Conenna during a YouTube interview in January 2024.
Though Colón sports a look that veers from her commercial image, fans can still spot her in a crowd. "I was getting on a flight two weeks ago to Houston and somebody walked up to me and said, 'I love your commercial,'" she explainedto Conenna. Of course, the spot is far from the only place people might know her work. Colón made it to the quarterfinals of "America's Got Talent" in 2014, appeared on "MasterChef" in 2019, and made her Food Network debut in 2023. The star also runs a hit TikTok cooking show, serving up a taste of Colón's everyday style to her fans.
Deanna Colón's sassy chef persona
The Jardiance commercial gets Deanna Colón recognized, along with TV appearances, but her videos on social media likely garner the most attention. Posting under the name DeannaBombChicaon TikTok and Instagram,she is one of those TikTok stars people want to be friends with. "I've had people shout out to me, 'I watched Go Fork Your Self on TikTok!'" Colón told John Conenna during herYouTubeinterview. "I'm in the security line, bright red blushing." Unlike her commercial work, Colón looks very much like her real-life self in the cooking videos. She is animated while describing the technique she uses and opens with the catchphrase: "Go fork yourself!"
Besides the cooking videos on social media, Colón also gives a behind-the-scenes look at her relationship with her husband. In February, she posted about the couple's travels to Fiji. "Some people football, we Fiji! Dodged Vegas & hopped a jet to chase one of our wildest dreams," she wrote.
While the singer and celebrity chef keeps it positive on social media, she endured an outpouring of negativity when her Jardiance commercial aired. "You really get how hated and despised overweight people are if you check out the comments under my Jardiance video," Colón told The Washington Post in October 2023. "We're focused on how people look instead of how people make other people feel," she added. Colón did not let the negativity derail her and instead focused on the positive.
Deanna Colón's clothing line
Deanna Colón was at the center of blowback against her Jardiance commercial with negative comments focused on her weight, but she also received plenty of support. "The hate for the Jardiance lady is really fatphobic on here and it's messed up," a Reddit user posted in May 2023. Another added that the drug company did the singer no favors by dressing her in an "ugly outfit." Long after she was replaced as the singing spokesperson, fans let Colón know how much they appreciated her work. "Miss you on the commercial so much I wish I would bring you back because the other girl just doesn't make me smile as much as you did," an Instagram user wrote.
The discussion around Colón's appearance in the ad may have veered into the negative, but she decided years before the commercial aired to embrace body positivity. "My struggle with my weight has been a struggle but not anymore," the multi-hyphenate told Voyage LA in April 2020. "I have embraced what society calls 'flaws,'" she told the outlet. Colón described herself as a body positivity influencer.
The actor took that mindset and launched a clothing line in 2020 called Bomb Chica Apparel. Shoppers can purchase T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring sassy messages like "Thick Girl Magic" and "WAP — Worthy And Powerful."
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