Oprah Winfrey opened up about her battle with obesity and how food took over her life during her weight loss special – but viewers flocked online to slam her for ‘promoting’ the drugs. 

Speaking in An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, on Monday, the 70-year-old fought back tears as she revealed how the drugs had meant she was no longer ‘constantly thinking about what the next meal is going to be’. 

She said ‘for 25 years, making fun of my weight was national sport’ and that over the years she had ‘lost some weight’ and ‘put back on some weight’ but since starting to take medication she had stopped ‘obsessing’ about food. 

Along with messages of support online, some viewers slammed Oprah, accusing her of ‘promoting big pharma and pushing Ozempic’ and criticizing her for taking the drugs after spending nine years promoting Weight Watchers. 

The show was released days after Oprah quit her Weight Watchers board role, citing a potential ‘conflict of interest’ with the show, which heavily featured weight loss drug brands. 

Oprah fought back tears on Monday night during her weight loss special

She brought on guests and discussed her own experience with weight loss drugs

Her exit caused Weight Watchers shares to crash 20 percent.

But shares rebounded slightly after Oprah brought the CEO of Weight Watchers Simi Sistani on stage for the special, telling her that she had left the board ‘so that I could have a conversation with you’ on the show.

She also brought on leaders from two global pharmaceutical companies, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, that produce the medication. 

One viewer accused her of having ‘all her bases covered’ by bringing on both the CEO of Weight Watchers and the pharmaceutical leaders. 

Other fans accused her of ‘promoting’ the drugs. 

One wrote on X: ‘Oprah is on TV right now doing a special that is essentially an hourlong commercial for Ozempic, including advocating for giving Ozempic to children. Grim’ 

Another said: ‘Who else won’t be watching the Oprah special tonight promoting BigPharna & pushing Ozempic?’

A third said: ‘Right now on ABC there is literally a 1-hour Oprah Winfrey special pushing Ozempic on behalf of NovoNordisk. 

‘Big Pharma runs this country. They took the baton from big tobacco.’

During the show, Oprah pushed back at people she said wanted to ‘shame’ her for her weight and for taking the drugs. 

She said: ‘I come to this conversation in the hope that we can start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment… to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they chose to lose and not lose weight.’

She added: ‘All these years, I thought all of the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower and they were for some reason stronger than me.

‘But now I realize y’all weren’t even thinking about the food. It’s not that you had the willpower. You weren’t even thinking about it. You weren’t obsessing about it.’

Now, she said: ‘I use it as a tool, combined with hiking three or five miles a day or running. It’s not just one thing, it’s multiple things for me.’ 

Oprah has visibly lost weight in recent months, having shed more than 40lbs with the help of the weight loss drug.

Rumors that she was taking Ozempic started to circulate last year, until she admitted she had started taking an unnamed weight loss drug in December. 

Oprah has defended her Ozempic use in a new documentary – just days after she stepped down from her role as a Weight Watchers ambassador after she admitted she took the drug

The 70-year-old (seen December 2023) is set to plug the weight loss drug in an upcoming special, An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, which airs tonight

Just days after she revealed she left Weight Watchers due to a conflict of interest after being on the board since 2015, Oprah ( seen in 2014) has again defended Ozempic in a teaser clip

She said in the special: ‘The number one thing I hope people come away with is knowing that [obesity] is a disease, and it’s in the brain.’ 

The special also features obesity medicine physician Dr. Jen Ashton, who was shown having a discussion with Oprah during the teaser. 

Dr. Jen explained: ‘It is conclusively known that the conditions of overweight and obesity are complex, chronic disease states, not character flaws… so they should be managed accordingly. ‘ 

Oprah replied: ‘Oh, I love that so much, Dr. Jen. It’s a disease, not a character flaw.’ 

Just three days ago, the TV mogul shared why she was stepping down from Weight Watchers, opening up about her reasons for quitting during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. 

She explained: ‘I decided that because this special was really important to me and I wanted to be able to talk about whatever I wanted to talk about, and Weight Watchers is now in the business of being a weight health company that also administers drug medications for weight. 

‘I did not want to have the appearance of any conflict of interest,’ said Oprah, who announced last month that she was not going to stand for re-election at the next Weight Watchers shareholder meeting in May.

‘So I resigned from the board and donated all of my shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture,’ Oprah added.

‘So nobody can say, ”Oh, she’s doing that special, she’s making money, promoting”. No, you cannot say that,’ she said.

Oprah – who has credited her dramatic transformation to the drug – said: ‘The number one thing I hope people come away with is knowing that [obesity] is a disease, and it’s in the brain’

Just three days ago, the TV mogul shared why she was stepping down from Weight Watchers. During an appearance of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Oprah (seen in 2024) revealed why she left

In December, the TV mogul confessed to using the drug as a ‘tool’ to stop her yo-yoing weight issues (seen in 2023)

‘Did people at Weight Watchers cry when you left?,’ Jimmy asked. ‘They almost did,’ Oprah replied.

‘Yeah, I would imagine they wouldn’t be that happy about it,’ Jimmy said. ‘They almost did,’ Oprah said.

Oprah was on the talk show to promote the upcoming ABC program An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, which is set to air at 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT.

In December, the TV mogul confessed to using the drug as a ‘tool’ to stop her yo-yoing weight issues. 

At the time, she told People: ‘I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing’ – but did not name the drug that she uses.

‘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’ and added she had actively recommended the weight loss aid to other people before deciding to take it herself.’

Throughout her decades-long weight-loss journey, Oprah has never shied away from discussing her problems in public. Pictured in 1988 (left) and 1992 (right) 

Last year she was dogged by rumors she was on Ozempic, the diabetes medicine that has become a Hollywood fad among those attempting to slim down

As the speculation mounted, Oprah finally confessed that she had relented and started taking weight loss medication – after previously feeling that she had to rely on her own ‘willpower’ to achieve the figure she wanted (seen in 1990)

Over the decades of her superstardom, Oprah has been candid with her fans about the various steps she has taken to lose weight.

Last year she was dogged by rumors she was on Ozempic, the diabetes medicine that has become a Hollywood fad among those attempting to slim down.

As the speculation mounted, Oprah finally confessed that she had relented and started taking weight loss medication – after previously feeling that she had to rely on her own ‘willpower’ to achieve the figure she wanted.

‘It is a very personal topic for me,’ said Oprah in a press statement quoted by BET:  ‘and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity.’

When she underwent knee surgery in 2021, her physical rehabilitation helped her develop a number of healthy habits that helped her burn fat.

When she underwent knee surgery in 2021, her physical rehabilitation helped her develop a number of healthy habits that helped her burn fat (seen in 2018)

In the documentary, Oprah (seen in 2024) will also interview people who have used popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as professionals with experience in the field

Oprah weighed 237lbs (107.5kg) at her heaviest, she has previously revealed. 

She said undergoing knee surgery in 2021 kickstarted a journey for her to improve her health and live a ‘more vital and vibrant life.’ 

The broadcast icon said she now eats her last meal at 4pm, drinks a gallon of water a day and uses Weight Watchers principles of counting points, along with regular hikes.

She added that her fitness and health routine are integral to maintaining her weight loss saying: ‘It’s everything. I know everybody thought I was on it, but I worked so damn hard. I know that if I’m not also working out and vigilant about all the other things, it doesn’t work for me.’

She said: ‘I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way.’

In the documentary, Oprah will also interview people who have used popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as professionals with experience in the field.