For months former talk show host Oprah Winfrey denied that she was using weight loss medication to shed 40 pounds, saying she viewed medication as “an easy way out.” In December, the 69-year-old came clean, admitting that she used Ozempic to slim down. “I now use it as I feel I need it as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she said. Now it’s been uncovered that Oprah has a financial incentive to use Ozempic. Winfrey, who is worth an estimated $2.8 billion, owns a 10% stake in Weight Watchers, and Weight Watchers is now in the Ozempic business. The famous weight loss group is now providing “doctor-led access to prescription medication” including the Type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic, which has become a celebrity favorite. Weight Watchers CEO Sima Sistani said in an interview in December, “What we are now saying is we know better and it’s on us to do better so that we can help people feel positive and destigmatize this conversation around obesity.” Some view this latest development as another nail in the coffin of the original — and highly successful — Weight Watchers program started by Jean Nidetch in the 1960s. By promoting weight loss medication, Weight Watchers is essentially saying that their diet won't help you shed the pounds, but a pill will.
