Oprah Winfrey is calling out the decades-long criticism of her weight in her ABC special about the rising trends of weight management drugs. Winfrey and a group of medical experts and patients addressed the myths surrounding obesity and the growing class of weight management injectables such as Ozempic and others in 'An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution.'
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00:00 For 25 years, making fun of my weight was national sport."
00:04 Oprah Winfrey is calling out the decades-long criticism of her weight in her ABC special
00:09 about the rising trends of weight management drugs.
00:12 Winfrey and a mix of medical experts and patients addressed the myths surrounding obesity
00:17 and the growing class of weight management injectables such as Ozempic and others
00:21 in an Oprah special, "Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution."
00:24 "When I tell you how many times I've blamed myself because you think
00:28 I'm smart enough to figure this out, and then to hear all along it's you fighting your brain."
00:32 Winfrey revealed she'd first been introduced to weight loss drugs while recovering from
00:36 knee surgery in 2021, though at the time she had no interest in the budding medical intervention,
00:41 saying, "I've got to do this on my own because if I take the drug, that's the easy way out."
00:45 In a December 2023 People cover story,
00:48 Winfrey shared that her views on weight management injectables had changed.
00:52 "I had the biggest 'aha' along with many people in that audience.
00:55 I've realized I've been blaming myself all these years for being overweight,
00:59 and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control."
01:02 Winfrey stated at the top of the telecast that the special was created for the more
01:06 than 100 million people in the United States and people around the world who are living with obesity.
01:11 Likening the conversation around the concept of obesity as a disease to the discussions had on
01:16 the Oprah Winfrey show in the late 80s and early 90s when alcoholism was first understood to be
01:22 a disease and not a choice, Winfrey invited experts to speak to the biological factors
01:26 that play into weight gain and the mechanisms by which weight loss drugs can counter them.
01:31 Dr. W. Scott Bush, director of obesity medicine in the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute at the
01:36 Cleveland Clinic stated, "There's a spectrum of obesity. It's not one disease, it's many
01:41 different subtypes of a disease," before addressing the myth that individuals who
01:45 are overweight and obese have simply failed to control their weight through diet and exercise.
01:49 Wrapping up the special, Winfrey reiterated her intention to release the judgment surrounding
01:54 obesity and spoke directly to viewers at home with differing opinions on weight loss medications.
02:00 "Now a sense of hope, number one, and number two, you no longer blame yourself.
02:06 Because when I tell you how many times I have blamed myself."
02:12 For much more details on the special, head to THR.com.
02:16 And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.