Oprah Winfrey Wants to "Un-Shame" Ozempic Users

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."

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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."

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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…