Celebrities have been talking about diets and workout routines for years, but now more and more of them are talking about weight loss medications they're taking, such as the injectable, Ozempic.
'Ozempic' is a brand name for diabetic medication semaglutide, which is used by those with diabetes to raise their insulin levels and thus decrease their blood sugar.
These kinds of semaglutide injections, which also go by other names such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, have a side effect of slowing digestion and making you feel fuller for longer.
For this reason, the drug is being rampantly prescribed off-label (not for its approved use) for weight loss, in order to help people feel satiated for longer and eat less.
It's not the miracle 'fix all' for everyone though. The fact that the drug is not approved for weight loss is one thing, but there are also a range of side effects that are causing some people trouble. And, as more people take it, stocks of the drug across the world are decreasing, causing shortages for the diabetics that need it.
Despite this, it appears that Tinseltown is full of celebrities who are using weight loss medications. Here is a full list of all the celebrities who have admitted to it.
Kelly Clarkson
While Clarkson said she doesn't take Ozempic, she did admit to using other weight loss medicine.
In conversation with Whoopi Goldberg on her show, Clarkson said that her doctor had encouraged her to take the drug.
"My doctor chased me for like two years, and I was like, 'No, I'm afraid of it,'" Clarkson said. "I already have thyroid problems. I was afraid."
"Mine is a different one [medicine] than people assume, but I ended up having to do that too because my bloodwork got so bad," she added.
Clarkson described the medication as something that "aids in helping break down the sugar, which obviously my body doesn't do well."
Oprah
While Oprah Winfrey has been open about dieting over the years, she remained quiet on the Ozempic discussion until December 2023.
Speaking to People, Winfrey said that she does indeed take a weight loss drug, but didn't name it.
"I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing," she said.
"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.
"I'm absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself," she said.
While Winfrey had at first called the drugs "an easy way out", she no longer feels that way.
"I realized I'd been blaming myself all these years for being overweight, and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control," she said.
Rebel Wilson
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Wilson shared that she took semaglutide for a short period of time to maintain her weight.
"Someone like me could have a bottomless appetite for sweets, so I think those drugs can be good," she said.
Noting that she no longer takes it, Wilson said that she wanted to lose weight for fertility reasons, adding that the wider Hollywood business didn't want her to do so.
"Basically no one apart from my mom wanted me to lose weight," Wilson said. "People thought I’d lose my pigeonhole in my career, playing the fat funny character, and they wanted me to continue in that."
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne has been on a long journey with weight over the years, and while she has admitted to using weight loss medications such as Ozempic, she says she lost "too much" weight on it.
"I lost 42 pounds now and it's just enough," told Piers Morgan's podcast. "I didn't actually want to go this thin, but it just happened and I'll probably put it all on again soon."
She added that while she didn't "physically throw up" she did feel nauseous for around two to three weeks.
"You get very thirsty and you don't want to eat. That's it."
Kelly Osborne
Sharon's daughter Kelly has let her thoughts on the drug be known, saying it's "amazing".
While she didn't confirm or deny using it herself she said, "There are a million ways to lose weight, why not do it through something that's isn't as boring as working out?
The star added to E! News: "The people who hate on it the most are the people who are secretly doing it or pissed off that they can't afford it. Unfortunately, right now it's something that is very expensive but it eventually won't be because it actually works."
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg has been open about her use of weight loss drug Mounjaro, saying that she was able to use the drug to lose weight.
"I'm doing that wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help and it's been really good for me," she told Kelly Clarkson on her show, when asked about her appearance. "It's all the weight I've lost."
"I've lost almost two people," she added.
Amy Schumer
While Amy Schumer has admitted to trying Ozempic, the actress has said she did not continue with it due to the side effects.
"Like a year ago, I tried it," she said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, adding that she "was one of those people that felt so sick and couldn't play with my son."
She also took the opportunity to slam celebrities who have denied using the drugs.
Everyone has been lying saying, 'Oh smaller portions,'" she said. "Like shut the f*ck up. You are on Ozempic or one of those things or you got work done. Just stop."
Chelsea Handler
On the Call Her Daddy podcast, Chelsea Handler admitted to using Ozempic without really knowing it.
"I didn't even know I was on it," she said, adding that her "anti-aging doctor just hands it out to anybody."
She stopped taking it soon after she found out about the shortages.
"I'm not on it anymore. That's too irresponsible," Handler said. "I'm an irresponsible drug user, but I'm not gonna take a diabetic drug. I tried it, and I'm not gonna do that. That's not for me. That's not right for me."
Remi Bader
Model and content creator Remi Bader told the podcast Not Skinny But Not Fat that she was prescribed weight loss injections by a doctor but "gained double the weight back" after stopping them.
"I saw a doctor and they were like, 'It's 100% because you went on Ozempic," she said. "It was making me think I wasn't hungry for so long. I lost some weight. I didn't wanna be obsessed with being on it long term. I was like, I bet the second I got off I'm gonna get starving again. I did, and my bingeing got so much worse."
She also spoke of the moral concerns of using it given that people with diabetes need it.
Elon Musk
While many celebs have been prompted in in-person interviews, Elon Musk responded to a simple Twitter comment.
Asked about his recent weight loss and any tips he simply responded, "Fasting. And Wegovy."
Roxy Jacenko
PR personality Roxy Jacenko admitted to being on weight loss medication after she gained weight during hormone therapy for breast cancer.
However, Jacenko misused the drug, injecting four times the prescribed amount in order to lose weight faster. The decision led to a hospital admission, and changed her mind about the weight loss drug.
"I thought I was actually going to die," she said. "I have had cancer, radiation therapy, all of that. It doesn't even compare to how bad I felt when I took this drug."
"It is not worth the ramifications," she told The Daily Telegraph.
Feature image: Getty.
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