Why Oprah Winfrey Wants to Remove “Shame” Around Ozempic Conversation

Oprah Winfrey has entered the Ozempic chat. 

The talk show host recently shared her thoughts on the recent headlines about new weight-loss drugs—including Type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic—saying she wants to take away the stigma around weight loss. 

"You all know I've been on this journey for most of my life," Oprah shared during The State of Weight panel on Oprah Daily's The Life You Want series Sept. 20, per USA Today. "My highest weight was 237 pounds. I don't know if there is another public person whose weight struggle has been exploited as much as mine over the years. So I am ready for this conversation."

The 69-year-old recalled how she was "treated differently" when she was over 200 pounds versus when she weighed less than 200 pounds.

"This is a world that has shamed people for being overweight forever," Oprah also shared on the panel, "and all of us who have lived it know that people treat you differently, they just do."

Oprah went on to reflect on the stigma of weight gain, noting how the public criticized her for over it for years.

"One of the things that I've shamed myself about and was ashamed in the tabloids every week about for 25 years is not having the willpower," she continued. "There is a distinction between mindset, which we're now hearing. The brain tells you a certain thing about how you process food versus the willpower."

And although Oprah didn't speak to whether or not she has tried the medication, other public figures have. In fact, back in January, TikToker Remi Bader shared her experience with Ozempic in 2020, after she was prescribed due to being pre-diabetic and insulin-resistant.

"It was brand new, just got FDA approved, no one knew about it and I was so scared," she recalled on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. "They said I need this. And I had a lot of mixed feelings."

But a few months later, Remi decide to stop the drug, which she said caused a cycle of "bad binging." 

"I saw a doctor, and they were like, ‘It's 100 percent because you went on Ozempic,'" the 28-year-old continued. "It was making me think I wasn't hungry for so long. I lost some weight. I didn't want to be obsessed with being on it long term. I was like, ‘I bet the second I got off I'm going to get starving again.' I did, and my binging got so much worse. So then I kind of blamed Ozempic."

Meanwhile other familiar faces have denied the use of Ozempic, crediting their slimmer physiques to diet and exercise. In fact, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards clarified she hadn't taken the drug, writing beneath a January Instagram shot of herself and friends post-workout, "I am NOT on ozempic."

At the time, when E! News reached out for comment, a rep for Novo Nordisk said Ozempic is "not approved for chronic weight management." The brand's statement said it's intended to treat type 2 diabetes, improve blood sugar and reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events for adults with the condition.

But Oprah and Remi aren't the only celebrities to openly talk about the drug. To hear all the stars that have weighed in, keep scrolling...

The 70-year-old recently revealed that she shed 30 pounds after using Ozempic earlier this year.

"Whatever you choose is up to you," she exclusively told E! News in an interview published Sept. 6. "It's not a dirty little secret when you've taken something to help you lose weight, which is perfectly fine."

She added, "We don't have to bulls--t."

"I think it's very important we understand certain medications are made for certain people," she told E! News' Francesca Amiker, "and to not take that away just for glamazon purposes."

Raven continued, "Do what you gotta do, just make sure you save the medication for the people who actually need it."

The Trainwreck star did not hold back when she called out celebrities for not being honest about using Ozempic as a weight loss tool during her June 8 appearance on Watch What Happens Live. 

"Everyone and their mom is gonna try it. Everyone has been lying saying, 'Oh, smaller portions,'" she told Andy Cohen, who has also ppublicly weighed in on the Ozempic craze multiple times. "Like, shut the f--k up. You are on Ozempic or one of those things, or you got work done. Just stop."

Schumer, who has been open about her past medical procedures, added, "Be real with people. When I got lipo, I said I got lipo."

She admitted to becoming "immediately invested" in Ozempic last year, but explained that it was not "livable" for her to take the Type 2 diabetes drug and hindered her ability to spend time with her 4-year-old son Gene. 

"I was one of those people that felt so sick and couldn't play with my son," Schumer recalled. "I was so skinny, and he's throwing a ball at me and [I couldn't]."

"People have a mixed feeling about interventions like this," Dr. Drew exclusively told E! News at Fox's Special Forces: World's Toughest Test season two event in Los Angeles on Sept. 12. "They're tantalized by it, but on the other hand, they have this weird judgment."

He continued, "If we have a medication that can be helpful, by all means, people should be encouraged to think about it."

Forget winter, a hot take is coming.

The Game of Thrones alum was not shy when it came to sharing her opinion about Ozempic and its advertisements.

In an April 5 Instagram Story, the actress reposted a tweet from writer Sophie Vershbow that read, "The Ozempic ads plastered across the Times Square subway station can f--k all the way off." One ad featured in Vershbow's Twitter photos read, "One shot to lose weight," while another offered similar text, "A weekly shot to lose weight."

Turner adding her own commentary, writing, "WTF."

Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk previously told E! News that the drug is not FDA-approved for chronic weight management.

"While we recognize that some healthcare providers may be prescribing Ozempic for patients whose goal is to lose weight, Novo Nordisk does not promote, suggest, or encourage off-label use of our medicines and is committed to fully complying with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations in the promotion of our products," the Danish pharmaceutical company said in a statement. "We trust that healthcare providers are evaluating a patient's individual needs and determining which medicine is right for that particular patient."

Ozempic is no laughing matter for the comedian.

Handler revealed her "anti-aging doctor" prescribed her the medication without realizing what the drug was. "I didn't even know I was on it," she said during the Jan. 25 episode of Call Her Daddy. "She said, 'If you ever want to drop five pounds, this is good.'"

But while she tried the drug, Handler noted that she didn't like how it made her feel.

"I came back from a vacation and I injected myself with it," she recalled. "I went to lunch with a girlfriend a few days later, and she was like, 'I'm not really eating anything. I'm so nauseous, I'm on Ozempic.' And I was like, 'I'm kind of nauseous too.' But I had just come back from Spain and was jet-lagged."

Ultimately, Handler stopped using the drug because it wasn't medically necessary for her, adding that she gave away the remaining doses to friends.

"I've injected about four or five of my friends with Ozempic, because I realized I didn't want to use it because it was silly," she said. "It's for heavy people. I have people coming over to my house, and I'm like, 'OK, I can see you at 1, I can see you at 2.'"

KoKo clapped back when commenters on Instagram speculated that she was taking Ozempic. 

"Let's not discredit my years of working out," Kardashian wrote on a January post. "I get up 5 days a week at 6am to train. Please stop with your assumptions. I guess new year still means mean people."

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star got real about claims that she was taking the medication after her followers on social media took notice of her weight loss earlier this year.

Richards wrote back to one user under a Jan. 5 snap on Instagram of herself and her girlfriends after a workout, "I am NOT on ozempic." In another response, Richards added, "Never have been."

That wouldn't be the last time the Bravo star shot down the rumors, reiterating that she is "NOT taking" the medication under a Jan. 16 post on Instagram by Page Six. 

After fans questioned whether or not she was taking Ozempic, Jessica set the record straight.

Oh Lord," she told Bustle in an interview published July 6. "I mean, it is not [Ozempic], it's willpower. I'm like, do people want me to be drinking again? Because that's when I was heavier. Or they want me to be having another baby? My body can't do it."

This Shah isn't shy about her Ozempic use. 

Gharachedaghi didn't "see a reason to hide" being on the medication when discussing her health journey, telling Entertainment Tonight in May that she would prefer to "just talk about it because there's so many people out there who want to do the same thing or they want to learn about what you did."

Of her 30-pound weight loss due to her experience with Semaglutide—the generic version of the weight-loss drug—the Shahs of Sunset star explained, "Obviously, I didn't look like this two months ago. So..I would be a liar to say I quit drinking alcohol and you know all of a sudden started working out like some people like to say."

Gharachedaghi went on to note that she still has an appetite, saying, "I'm actually a little hungry. Look I'm gonna go smoke a little pot and I'm gonna eat definitely."

The influencer said that using Ozempic to treat her type 2 diabetes negatively affected her overall health. 

"It was brand new, just got FDA approved, no one knew about it and I was so scared," Bader recalled on the Jan. 12 episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. "They said I need this. And I had a lot of mixed feelings."

After she went off the drug, Bader—who has been open about her battle with binge eating—said it caused a cycle of "bad binging."

"I saw a doctor, and they were like, 'It's 100 percent because you went on Ozempic,'" she explained. "It was making me think I wasn't hungry for so long. I lost some weight. I didn't want to be obsessed with being on it long term. I was like, 'I bet the second I got off I'm going to get starving again.' I did, and my binging got so much worse. So then I kind of blamed Ozempic."

Forget shedding for the wedding because The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member admitted she was taking Ozempic to lose weight prior to filming the season 13 reunion. 

During the April 4 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Catania confirmed she had been taking the antidiabetic medication because she didn't want to be "looking any bigger than anyone else," at the taping, explaining, "I got on the bandwagon." She then joked that "not one" of her co-stars wasn't also taking Ozempic and said the only side effect she was experiencing was that she was "just not hungry."

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's daughter first opened up about taking the diabetes drug when she shared her PCOS diagnosis in March of last year. 

"To get the correct diagnosis you would need 2 out of the 5 characteristics of PCOS and I had 4," she wrote on Instagram at the time. "During my appointment with my endocrinologist I realized that may have been a factor in my issues with weight, so we decided to try a medicine to regulate my body more normally and create the tools to continue to keep my body and myself healthy as I get older."

Gracie offered an update on her health journey in a June 5 post after a commenter called out her alleged use of Type 2 diabetes medication.

"I did use Ozempic last year, yes," she wrote. "I am now on a low dose of Mounjaro for my PCOS as well as working out. No need to accuse when I have been open about it."