Oprah Winfrey Reveals She Uses A Weight Loss Medication

Oprah Winfrey has opened up about her body transformation, revealing the steps she's taking to lose weight, including taking medication that she says helped her feel good.  

"I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing. 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 chose not to reveal the drug she's taking. 

"I'm absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself."

She hasn't solely relied on the medication though, and in last two years has kickstarted her health and fitness regimens. 

"After knee surgery, I started hiking and setting new distance goals each week. I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends."

She has also made changes to her eating habits.

"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."

She went on to explain that she's physically and mentally in the best shape ever.

"I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I'd felt in years. I know everybody thought I was on [Ozempic], but I worked so damn hard. I know that if I'm not also working out and vigilant about all the other things, it doesn't work for me."

"It was a second shot for me to live a more vital and vibrant life."

Oprah isn't the only celebrity who's gotten candid about using a weight loss medication. Keep scrolling to see others who have opened up. 

Raven-Symoné

"I think it's very important we understand certain medications are made for certain people, and to not take that away just for glamazon purposes."

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

Sharon Osbourne

She revealed in September 2023 that she shed 42 pounds after using Ozempic.

"Whatever you choose is up to you. It's not a dirty little secret when you've taken something to help you lose weight, which is perfectly fine."

"We don't have to bulls--t."

Amy Schumer

She didn't hold back when she called out celebrities for not being honest about using Ozempic.

"Everyone and their mom is gonna try it. Everyone has been lying saying, 'Oh, smaller portions.' Like, shut the f--k up. You are on Ozempic or one of those things, or you got work done. Just stop."

"Be real with people. When I got lipo, I said I got lipo."

She admitted to becoming "immediately invested" in Ozempic, but explained it was not "livable" for her, 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. I was so skinny, and he's throwing a ball at me and [I couldn't]."

Dr. Drew Pinsky

"People have a mixed feeling about interventions like this. They're tantalized by it, but on the other hand, they have this weird judgment."

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

Sophie Turner

"The Ozempic ads plastered across the Times Square subway station can f--k all the way off." 

One ad featured read, "One shot to lose weight," while another read, "A weekly shot to lose weight."

Sophie added her own commentary saying, "WTF."

Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk revealed 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. We trust that healthcare providers are evaluating a patient's individual needs and determining which medicine is right for that particular patient."

Chelsea Handler

She revealed her "anti-aging doctor" prescribed her Ozempic without realizing what it was.

"I didn't even know I was on it. She said, 'If you ever want to drop five pounds, this is good.'"

While she tried the drug, she noted she didn't like how it made her feel.

"I came back from a vacation and I injected myself with it. 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."

She stopped using it because it wasn't medically necessary for her, adding 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. 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.'"

Khloe Kardashian

She clapped back when commenters speculated she was taking Ozempic. 

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

Kyle Richards

She opened up about claims she was taking the medication after her followers noticed her weight loss.

"I am NOT on ozempic. Never have been."

Jessica Simpson

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

"Oh Lord. 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."

Golnesa "GG" Gharachedaghi

She didn't "see a reason to hide" being on the medication while discussing her health journey.

She said 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."

"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."

"I'm actually a little hungry. Look I'm gonna go smoke a little pot and I'm gonna eat definitely."

Remi Bader

She said using Ozempic to treat her type 2 diabetes negatively affected her health. 

"It was brand new, just got FDA approved, no one knew about it and I was so scared. They said I need this. And I had a lot of mixed feelings."

After she went off the drug, she 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.' 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."

Dolores Catania

She admitted she was taking Ozempic to lose weight prior to filming the season 13 reunion of 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey.'

She confirmed she had been taking the medication because she didn't want to be "looking any bigger than anyone else," at the taping.

"I got on the bandwagon." She then joked "not one" of her co-stars wasn't also taking Ozempic, and said the only side effect was that she was "just not hungry."

Gracie McGraw

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's daughter opened up about taking the drug when she shared her PCOS diagnosis.

"To get the correct diagnosis you would need 2 out of the 5 characteristics of PCOS and I had 4. 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."

She provided an update on her health journey after a commenter called out her alleged use of Type 2 diabetes medication.

"I did use Ozempic last year, yes. 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."