Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Champagne Colle & OBC Wines
Lately, it seems like nobody can stop talking about Ozempic, an injectable diabetes drug that’s garnered a reputation as a popular weight-loss drug among the 1%. Despite the fact that the drug is not FDA approved for chronic weight loss, Doctors seem to be prescribing it off-label to help people lose weight. Khloé Kardashian, Kyle Richards and Rosie O’Donnell have all denied using Ozempic amid rumors that they are taking the drug. Meanwhile, others have reported disastrous side effects, including extreme nausea and serious gastrointestinal problems.
And if Chelsea Handler’s experience is any indication, it seems like Ozempic is actually quite popular in Hollywood. During a recent episode of Call Her Daddy, Handler claimed that she unknowingly took the drug after her doctor prescribed her a weight-loss drug called Semaglutide. (At the time, she says, she didn’t know Ozempic was the brand name of semaglutide.)
“Everyone’s on Ozempic,” Handler said after jokingly revealing that she had injected several of her friends with Ozempic and had some of them at her house. “My anti-aging doctor just gives it to everyone.” Recalling her own experience with the drug, she said, “I didn’t even know I was taking it.”
Handler said her doctor told her, “Oh, if you ever want to lose five pounds, that’s fine.” She went on to share how she injected herself with the drug and then with a friend, who also took Ozempic days later , went to lunch: “She said, ‘I don’t really eat anything. I’m so sick; I’m on Ozempic.” And I was like, ‘I’m kinda sick too! But I’m not on Ozempic.’ And she said, ‘Are you sure?’ And I was like, ‘Well, what is this? I’m on semaglutide.” And she’s like, ‘That’s Ozempic.'”
Handler clarified that once she realized what it was, she stopped taking it. “I am an irresponsible drug user, but I will not take any medication for diabetes,” she said.
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