14 December 2023 , 09:44
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Oprah Winfrey has been criticised for using weight-loss medication – despite being a long-time ambassador for Weight Watchers.
The US chat show legend came under fire after confirming that she takes an unnamed drug to help manage her weight. In a candid interview, 69-year-old Winfrey said her new slimmed-down figure was a result of said drug and generally leading a healthier lifestyle.
“I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she said, adding: “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."
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Glammed-up Oprah Winfrey at the Academy Museum Gala (Variety via Getty Images)
Oprah hits the fittingly purple carpet at the LA premiere of The Color Purple (The Hollywood Reporter via Getty)Speaking to People, Oprah concluded: "I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself." However, some fans felt the billionaire philanthropist was being hypocritical, given she is a proud spokesperson for Weight Watchers, a company she's worked with since 2017.
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One social media user wrote, “What I don’t like about Oprah is she is clearly off them Ozempic shots, yet she pushing Weight Watchers,” while another added: “Done with the shaming but OK with lying?” Others called out the star for letting folks believe she “did [it] the old fashion way” and asked, “Why did you lie?” However, many users jumped to Winfrey's defence, writing “People are angry at Oprah for utilizing weight loss assistance, very weird thing to be so wound up over what people do with their OWN bodies,” and “Give her points for admitting it at least.”
The industry icon, currently promoting her upcoming film The Colour Purple, also addressed the ridicule she faced about her shape and size over the course of career. She singled out the time she landed on fashion critic Mr Blackwell’s list and was dubbed 'Dumpy, Frumpy and Downright Lumpy.' “It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years. I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself,” Winfrey pondered, adding: “I didn’t feel angry. I felt sad. I felt hurt. I swallowed the shame. I accepted that it was my fault.”