Oprah Winfrey Trades WeightWatchers for Ozempic?

Is Oprah Winfrey using Ozempic? She suggested as much … and is backing away from her previous weight loss strategy because of it.

The proliferation of Ozempic shots for luxury weight loss among the rich has divided the celebrity world.

Some famous people condemn the misuse of a life-saving diabetes drug. Others praise Ozempic even after ending up in the hospital.

Oprah has somehow managed to come down on both sides of the issue. But now it’s possible she’s become an Ozempic girlie, and she’s leaving the board of WeightWatchers over it.

Oprah Winfrey is leaving the WeightWatchers board

WW International announced the American icon will be donating her stake WeightWatchers alongside her departure from the board.

The reason, it seems, is to exclude any semblance of a conflict of interest — real or imagined. Why? Because of her use of weight-loss medications. Yes, she has confessed to using an aid to drop the pounds, though what exactly she’s taking remains a mystery.

WeightWatchers shared this news in a press release with the SEC on Wednesday, February 28.

Before this, Oprah spent nine years on the board of WeightWatchers.

Her stake in the company reportedly amounts to about $12 million (it’s an estimate, because stocks are largely based upon feelings)

According to The BBC, Oprah plans to donate that money to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Not everyone is a fan of WW International

WeightWatchers is a controversial organization.

Though it earns praise for using a points system rather than grossly unscientific “calorie counting” to help people manage their nutrition, critics say that it still promotes diet culture — and even targets young children with its diet app.

That bit about 8-year-olds using a diet app is according to Federal regulators, who say that the firm then harvested that data. Yikes!

Previously, Oprah cited WeightWatchers as a tool that she used to lose as much as 42 pounds. However, more recently, she delved into the world of luxury weight-loss drugs.

In December of 2023, Oprah showed up for the premiere of The Color Purple looking remarkably fit.

This is when Oprah confirmed that she had taken a prescription weight loss drug. She did not confirm (or deny) whether she was taking Ozempic, the polarizing semaglutide normally used for diabetes patients.

Oprah Winfrey Trash Talked Ozempic

Months earlier, in 2023, Oprah had commented that Ozempic-users were taking an “easy way out.”

The controversial semaglutide works for weight loss by slowing the digestive process to a crawl. Despite the side effects, users find that they continue to feel full … so long as they continue to take the injections.

Oprah went on to walk back those comments. See, WeightWatchers paid $106 million to acquire Sequence, a telehealth service. And Sequence prescribes Ozempic and other weight loss medications.

Of course, Ozempic is deservedly polarizing. On the one hand, everyone deserves to have any kind of body that they desire. That’s not always achievable, but it’s a fair desire.

But Ozempic use for luxury weight loss has caused documented shortages on multiple continents. Even if it weren’t for known and unknown side effects (we straight up do not know the long-term effects of semaglutide injections on people who don’t have diabetes), this is a scary time for many diabetics.

Ideally, we’d live in a society where no one cares about or devalues anyone over their body shape. Unfortunately, right now, that seems to be too much to ask.