Oprah Winfrey was heavily criticized by fans after she confirmed that she had taken weight-loss medication to lose weight while working as a Weight Watchers ambassador.
The acclaimed talk show host, 69, has been open about her weight issues over the years, previously sharing that her peak weight was “237 pounds.”
Oprah has worked with weight loss support group WW since 2017 and previously stated that medications like Ozempic were “the easy way out.”
However, on Wednesday she told People: “I'm using it now the way I feel I need to, as a way to cope, not as a yo-yo.” However, she didn't name the drug she uses, saying, she was “done with the embarrassment.”' after he lost more than 40 pounds in the last few months.
This sparked a backlash from some fans. One wrote: “Done with the shaming but okay with the lying?”
Oprah Winfrey, 69, was heavily criticized by fans after she confirmed she took weight loss medication to help lose weight while working as a Weight Watchers ambassador; seen on December 3rd
Oprah said she was “done with the shaming” after losing more than 40 pounds in recent months, but did not name the drug she uses; seen in 1992
'Why did you lie?' another commenter asked pointedly.
“So she said she would never do it, and in the end she did. 'Funny how the world works.'
“She said she did it the old fashioned way!!” another chimed in.
“Will she add this weight loss drug to her favorite list?” someone asked.
“What I don't like about Oprah is that she clearly doesn't do justice to the Ozempic vaccinations, but she's pushing Weight Watchers,” one person pointed out.
“Oprah finally admitted she's on Ozempic like we don't know yet.” “She hasn't been this skinny since I was in elementary school,” someone else added.
Another commenter pointed out that Oprah's confirmation that she is taking a weight loss drug could be a strategic move.
“Oprah is a long-time partner and board member of Weight Watchers. WW has just launched the “WW Clinic” where you can get prescription weight loss medications including Semaglutide + Ozempic.
Others wondered about her metabolism writing: “I know Oprah's metabolism is a mess.” “She has been a spokesperson for all weight loss products except surgical procedures since the '80s.”
However, there were also fans who defended Oprah.
This sparked a backlash from some fans. One wrote: “Done with the shaming but okay with the lying?”
'Why did you lie?' another asked clearly
Another fan added: “So she said she would never do it and in the end she did.” Funny how the world works
Others marveled at her metabolism, writing, “She has been the spokesperson for every weight loss product except surgery since the '80s.”
“What I don't like about Oprah is that she clearly doesn't do justice to the Ozempic vaccinations, but she's pushing Weight Watchers,” one person pointed out
“She said she did it the old fashioned way!!” someone else chimed in
“Will she add this weight loss drug to her favorite list?” someone asked
Another commenter pointed out that Oprah's confirmation that she is taking a weight loss drug could be a strategic move
Another tweet echoed this sentiment
Others questioned Oprah's statement that she was “done with being shamed” while taking a weight loss drug
However, other fans defended Oprah
'So? What is wrong with that? “A lot of people use them to lose weight,” one fan wrote
Another fan also described Opera as iconic
“At least give her points for admitting it,” one follower joked
“Kudos to Oprah for her openness about taking medication to help her lose weight.”
“People are mad at Oprah for seeking help to lose weight.” It's very strange to be so concerned about what people do with their OWN bodies. In addition, people die from preventable diseases. Can you blame anyone for getting the help they need to keep living?”
'So? What is wrong with that? “A lot of people use them to lose weight,” another fan wrote.
Opera was also called iconic by another fan: “Oprah's admission of using weight loss injections is iconic.”
“At least give her points for admitting it,” another follower joked.
On Tuesday, Oprah said of weight-loss medications: “The fact that there is a medically approved prescription to control my weight and stay healthier feels like a relief, like a redemption, like a gift in my life and not something to hide behind and be ridiculed again.”
“I'm completely done with being shamed by other people and especially by myself,” adding that she had actively recommended the weight loss aid to other people before deciding to take it herself.
The star revealed that she took the medication before Thanksgiving because she knew she would be “eating right for two weeks,” and credits the medication with helping her gain only half a pound instead of eight pounds, adding, that it “calms the noise of food.”
Winfrey said she is now seven pounds away from her goal weight of 160 pounds, but said, “It's not about the number.”
On Tuesday, Oprah admitted that she took weight-loss medication for her dramatic body transformation – after previously denying that she would ever take Ozempic or similar weight-loss medications (seen on the left last week and on the right in 2019).
She said knee surgery in 2021 provided the impetus for her to improve her health and live a “more vibrant and vibrant life.”
The broadcasting icon said she now eats her last meal at 4 p.m., drinks a gallon of water daily, and uses WeightWatchers principles of point-keeping in addition to regular hikes.
She added that her fitness and health routine was crucial to maintaining her weight loss, saying: “That's it.” I know everyone thought I was there, but I worked so damn hard. “I know that if I don’t train and be vigilant about everything else, it won’t work for me.”
She said: “I had an awareness of it [weight-loss] medication, but I felt like I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. Now I don't feel that way anymore.'
Winfrey said she was encouraged to use medical medications for weight loss after July's recorded panel discussion with weight loss experts and doctors – which led to her “biggest aha moment.” The conversation was published online in September and Winfrey strenuously denied that she would ever take weight loss medication.
She said: “I realized that I had been blaming myself for being overweight all these years, and I have a disposition that no amount of willpower can control.” Obesity is a disease. It's not about willpower – it's about the brain.
During the discussion, the experts emphasized that obesity is a metabolic disease in which some bodies are “more prone to storing more fat” – also known as adipose tissue.
Oprah candidly stated, “For those of us who store fat, no matter how often…you've all watched me diet and diet and diet and diet, it's a recurring thing because my body keeps wanting to go back up to.” a certain weight.'
She told People, “I use it now as I feel I need to, as a way to cope, not as a yo-yo” — but didn't name the drug she uses (pictured left on Dec. 6 and right in 2009).
The star moderated a panel discussion in front of a live audience in New York City as part of Oprah Daily's “The Life You Want” series, during which she denied that she would ever take weight-loss medication
She added: “If I ate an apple pie at 11 o'clock at night, I would be two pounds heavier in the morning. 'I can't eat anything after a certain amount of time.'
The TV personality, who claimed she had “yo-yoed her whole life”, later said: “This is a world that forever shames people for being overweight and all of us who have lived through this know “that people just treat you differently.” They just do it.
“And I'm Oprah Winfrey and I know everything that comes with it and I'm treated differently when I'm 200 pounds over and under 200 pounds…
“There is a condescension. There is a stigma.'
Oprah said the key was to have friends and partners around you who offered support and “rejoiced in the victory.”
After a more detailed discussion of the weight loss drugs currently available – including Ozempic and Wegovy – the media mogul said: “Shouldn't we all just be more accepting of whatever body you take on?” That should be your choice.
“One of the things that I was so ashamed of, and even when I first heard about the weight loss medications, I had to have knee surgery at the same time and I felt like, 'I have to do this.' Taking drugs is the easy way out.
“Part of me feels like I have to do it the hard way, I have to keep climbing the mountains, I have to keep suffering – like I think a lot of people feel after bariatric surgery,” and I have to do because otherwise I would somehow have cheated myself.'
She concluded: “As a person who has been shamed for so many years.” [about my weight]“I’m just tired of it.”
The star said after that conversation, she let go of her “own shame” and consulted her doctor, who prescribed the weight loss drug.
Throughout her decade-long weight loss journey, Oprah has never shied away from discussing her struggles publicly. Pictured in 1988
Winfrey has been extremely honest with fans every step of the way, sharing even the most intimate details about her relationship with her body and her “food addiction.” Pictured in 1990
When asked what she did last week to get results, she told Entertainment Tonight, “It's not one thing, it's everything. 'I plan on keeping it that way.'
Her weight problems began in 1976 when she got her first “big job” at the age of 22.
The then-148-pound reporter said she found it difficult to cope with the immense pressure placed on her and began binging on things like “corn dogs,” “chocolate chip cookies” and fast food from the mall food court to suppress their emotions and “numb their negative feelings.”
Her weight soon rose to over 200 pounds and she began trying “every diet known to woman.”
In 1988, just two years after The Oprah Winfrey Show launched, the TV legend revealed on an episode of her show that she had lost 67 pounds in four months thanks to an all-liquid diet.
In reality, she later revealed that she was “starved” and messed up her “metabolism,” which ultimately led to her gaining it all back and then some pretty quickly.
In the early 1990s, the self-confessed yo-yo dieter was at her heaviest at 237 pounds and felt “so ashamed” to have “joined the ranks of the perpetually overweight” that she said she could barely fit people in eyes see.
She remembered feeling like a “big, fat failure.” But after connecting with a personal trainer at a spa in Colorado, he inspired her to turn things around.
In 1988, just two years after The Oprah Winfrey Show launched, the TV legend revealed in an episode that she had lost 37 pounds in four months thanks to an all-liquid diet – and celebrated by carrying a cart full of fat the stage rolled
For years, Oprah's weight fluctuated. With the help of her new trainer, the weight dropped to 160 pounds by 2006, but within two years it rose back to 200 pounds.
At the time, she said that a number of health issues were to blame for the weight gain, admitting that she was once again feeling “down” and was on the verge of “giving up” and letting “the fat win.”
However, in 2015, she partnered with the company Weight Watchers and said she lost 40 pounds within a year through the program.
But she suffered another setback in late 2021 when Oprah revealed in January 2022 that she was undergoing a diet “reset” after consuming quite a bit over the holidays.