Over the past few months, Oprah Winfrey has garnered significant media attention for her remarks about weight loss medications, including Ozempic, a diabetes drug that numerous celebrities have acknowledged using in a controversial effort to slim down more quickly.
While initially attributing her weight loss over the years to the WeightWatchers program and hiking, the iconic talk show host, 70, has since admitted to utilizing a weight loss medication herself. Last fall, Winfrey memorably deemed Ozempic to be the “easy way out.”
In a more recent interview with People Magazine, the Color Purple star explained why she is “done shaming” anyone for using drugs to lose weight, including herself. She also deemed the weight loss drug she uses to be a “gift,” igniting more backlash. Many fans on social media interpreted this drug to be Ozempic.
Oprah Winfrey Credits Weight Loss Drugs After Shedding Pounds, Calling Them 'A Gift'
In December 2023, Winfrey sat down with the outlet and revealed: "I now use [an unnamed weight loss drug] as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing."
The Wrinkle in Time actress went on: "The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for." She added: "I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself."
Winfrey stressed that while she takes weight loss medications, she still exercises. "After knee surgery, I started hiking and setting new distance goals each week," she dished to the publication. "I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends. I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I’d felt in years."
When discussing her diet and the idea of taking drugs to lose weight, the television producer explained: "I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the WeightWatchers principles of counting points. I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way."
The news broke last week that Winfrey will be stepping down from her position on the board of WeightWatchers, which she has held for nearly a decade. The decision was made following her recent disclosure that she has been taking medication to aid in her weight loss journey, as reported by Variety.
Having served on the company's board since 2015, during which time she acquired a 10% stake in WeightWatchers, Winfrey informed the company of her choice not to stand for reelection at the annual shareholder meeting scheduled for May 2024.
In a new statement, Winfrey said: "I look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity."
According to WeightWatchers' filings with the SEC, her agreement with the company "will not engage in any other weight loss or weight management business, program, products or services."
