Oprah Winfrey has apologized for her role in promoting toxic weight loss program culture – months after finally admitting she used weight reduction drugs to shed greater than 40lbs.
The host, 70, opened up about her regrets around discussing weight-reduction plan and body image in a 3 hour WeightWatchers special.
She said on Thursday: ‘I actually have been a steadfast participant on this weight loss program culture. Through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years and online.
‘I’ve been a significant contributor to it. I cannot inform you what number of weight-loss shows and makeovers I actually have done, and so they have been a staple since I’ve been working in television.’
In March Oprah revealed she starved herself for ‘nearly five months’ on a liquid weight loss program back in 1988 – before quickly regaining the burden after proclaiming victory on television.
Oprah Winfrey has apologized for her role in promoting toxic weight loss program culture – months after finally admitting she used weight reduction drugs to shed greater than 40lbs (pictured March 2024)
In March Oprah revealed she starved herself for ‘nearly five months’ on a liquid weight loss program back in 1988 – before quickly regaining the burden after proclaiming victory on television
The TV host recounted her weight reduction efforts on An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution – and the way many years earlier she wheeled out 67 kilos of fat onto her talk show.
But just sooner or later after she displayed her results on television, she began to put the burden back on.
‘In an effort to combat all of the shame, I starved myself for nearly five months after which wheeled out that wagon of fat that the web will always remember,’ she said.
‘After losing 67 kilos on [a] liquid weight loss program, the following day, the very next day, I began to achieve it back. Feeling the shame of fighting a losing battle with weight, is a story all too familiar.’
Oprah previously called the wheel moment an enormous ‘mistake.’
‘Big, big, big, big, big, big, big mistake!’ she told Entertainment Tonight back in 2011. ‘When I have a look at that show, I feel it was certainly one of the most important ego trips of my life.’
During Monday’s special, Oprah opened up about her battle with obesity and the way food took over her life during her weight reduction special – but viewers flocked online to slam her for ‘promoting’ the drugs.
Speaking in An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, the star fought back tears as she revealed how the drugs had meant she was not ‘consistently enthusiastic about what the following meal goes to be’.
Throughout her decades-long weight-loss journey, Oprah has never shied away from discussing her problems in public. Pictured in 1988 (left) and 1992 (right)
She said ‘for 25 years, making fun of my weight was national sport’ and that over time she had ‘lost some weight’ and ‘put back on some weight’ but since beginning to take medication she had stopped ‘obsessing’ about food.
Along with messages of support online, some viewers slammed Oprah, accusing her of ‘promoting big pharma and pushing Ozempic’ and criticizing her for taking the drugs after spending nine years promoting Weight Watchers.
The show was released days after Oprah quit her Weight Watchers board role, citing a possible ‘conflict of interest’ with the show, which heavily featured weight reduction drug brands.
Her exit caused Weight Watchers shares to crash 20 percent.
Rumors that she was taking Ozempic began to flow into last yr, until she admitted she had began taking an unnamed weight reduction drug in December.
She said within the special: ‘The primary thing I hope people come away with is knowing that [obesity] is a disease, and it’s within the brain.’
The special also features obesity medicine physician Dr. Jen Ashton, who was shown having a discussion with Oprah through the teaser.
She said on Thursday: ‘I actually have been a steadfast participant on this weight loss program culture. Through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years and online. (seen December 2023)
Dr. Jen explained: ‘It is conclusively known that the conditions of obese and obesity are complex, chronic disease states, not character flaws… so that they ought to be managed accordingly. ‘
Oprah replied: ‘Oh, I like that a lot, Dr. Jen. It’s a disease, not a personality flaw.’
Last week, the TV mogul shared why she was stepping down from Weight Watchers, opening up about her reasons for quitting during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
She explained: ‘I made a decision that because this special was really necessary to me and I desired to have the ability to speak about whatever I desired to speak about, and Weight Watchers is now within the business of being a weight health company that also administers drug medications for weight.
‘I didn’t need to have the looks of any conflict of interest,’ said Oprah, who announced last month that she was not going to face for re-election at the following Weight Watchers shareholder meeting in May.
‘So I resigned from the board and donated all of my shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture,’ Oprah added.
‘So no person can say, ”Oh, she’s doing that special, she’s being profitable, promoting”. No, you can not say that,’ she said.
Oprah – who has credited her dramatic transformation to the drug – said: ‘The primary thing I hope people come away with is knowing that [obesity] is a disease, and it’s within the brain’
‘Did people at Weight Watchers cry if you left?,’ Jimmy asked. ‘They almost did,’ Oprah replied.
‘Yeah, I’d imagine they would not be that joyful about it,’ Jimmy said. ‘They almost did,’ Oprah said.
Oprah was on the talk show to advertise the ABC program An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution.
In December, the TV mogul confessed to using the drug as a ‘tool’ to stop her yo-yoing weight issues.
At the time, she told People: ‘I now use it as I feel I would like it, as a tool to administer not yo-yoing’ – but didn’t name the drug that she uses.
‘The undeniable fact that there is a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, looks like relief, like redemption, like a present, and never something to cover behind and once more be ridiculed for.
‘I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself’ and added she had actively really helpful the burden loss aid to other people before deciding to take it herself.’
Last yr she was dogged by rumors she was on Ozempic, the diabetes medicine that has turn into a Hollywood fad amongst those attempting to slim down
As the speculation mounted, Oprah finally confessed that she had relented and commenced taking weight reduction medication – after previously feeling that she needed to depend on her own ‘willpower’ to realize the figure she wanted (seen in 1990)
Over the many years of her superstardom, Oprah has been candid together with her fans concerning the various steps she has taken to drop some weight.
Last yr she was dogged by rumors she was on Ozempic, the diabetes medicine that has turn into a Hollywood fad amongst those attempting to slim down.
As the speculation mounted, Oprah finally confessed that she had relented and commenced taking weight reduction medication – after previously feeling that she needed to depend on her own ‘willpower’ to realize the figure she wanted.
‘It is a really personal topic for me,’ said Oprah in a press statement quoted by BET: ‘and for the tons of of tens of millions of individuals impacted across the globe who’ve for years struggled with weight and obesity.’
When she underwent knee surgery in 2021, her physical rehabilitation helped her develop a variety of healthy habits that helped her burn fat.
When she underwent knee surgery in 2021, her physical rehabilitation helped her develop a variety of healthy habits that helped her burn fat (seen in 2018)
Oprah weighed 237lbs (107.5kg) at her heaviest, she has previously revealed.
She said undergoing knee surgery in 2021 kickstarted a journey for her to enhance her health and live a ‘more vital and vibrant life.’
The broadcast icon said she now eats her last meal at 4pm, drinks a gallon of water a day and uses Weight Watchers principles of counting points, together with regular hikes.
She added that her fitness and health routine are integral to maintaining her weight reduction saying: ‘It’s all the things. I do know everybody thought I used to be on it, but I worked so rattling hard. I do know that if I’m not also understanding and vigilant about all the opposite things, it doesn’t work for me.’
She said: ‘I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I needed to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now not feel that way.’
In the documentary, Oprah can even interview individuals who have used popular weight reduction drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, in addition to professionals with experience in the sphere.