Oprah Winfrey Wants the Weight Loss Conversation to Start Un-Shaming Ozempic Use

Transcript

00:00 Oprah wants a world without ozempic shaming. The talk show icon shares her thoughts on the

00:05 recent headlines about new weight loss drugs, including the type 2 diabetes medication,

00:10 during a panel for Oprah Daily's The Life You Want class called The State of Weight, per Today.com.

00:16 According to the outlet, Oprah was part of a discussion on the obesity and weight crisis,

00:20 and when the convo turned to ozempic and similar medications, Wigovi and Mungero,

00:25 Winfrey took a stand for those on a weight loss journey, including those taking medication,

00:30 saying they shouldn't have to hide what they're doing. She said on the panel,

00:34 "It should be yours to own and not to be shamed about it. As a person who's been shamed for so

00:38 many years, I'm just sick of it, and I hope this conversation begins the unshaming."

00:44 Ned Oprah says she, unfortunately, has plenty of experience being scrutinized.

00:48 She adds, "You all know I've been on this journey for most of my life. My highest weight was 237

00:54 pounds. I don't know if there is another public person whose weight struggle has been exploited

00:59 as much as mine over the years, so I am ready for this conversation." She added, "One of the things

01:05 that I've shamed myself about and was ashamed in the tabloids every week for about 25 years

01:10 is not having the willpower. There is a distinction between mindset, which we're

01:15 now hearing. The brain tells you a certain thing about how you process food versus the willpower."

01:20 Oprah does not say whether she has tried the medication herself. It's no secret that the

01:25 conversation around Hollywood's Ozempic obsession continues to grow. Back in January, TikToker

01:31 Remy Bader shared her experience with Ozempic in 2020 after she was prescribed the medication due

01:36 to being pre-diabetic and insulin resistant. "I definitely have some..." "Like you were

01:42 offered it not for vanity. You were offered it because your doctor thought..." "Yeah, and also

01:47 it was brand new, and I just like was like, 'They said I need this.'" But a few months later,

01:53 Remy decided to stop the drug. "Once I was, you know, a few months later, got into the bad binging

01:59 and went off it, and I saw a doctor, and they were like, 'It's 100% because you went on Ozempic,'

02:03 because it was making me think I wasn't hungry for so long. I lost some weight. I didn't want

02:08 to be like obsessed with being on it long term, and I was like, 'I bet the second I go off,

02:12 I'm gonna get starving again.' I did, and my binging got so much worse, so then I kind of

02:16 blamed Ozempic." When E! News reached out for comment, a rep for Novo Nordisk said Ozempic is

02:22 not approved for chronic weight management. The brand statement said it's intended to treat type

02:27 2 diabetes, improve blood sugar, and reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events for adults

02:33 with the condition.

02:35 [crowd shouting]

02:49 [music]