Oprah Winfrey: Weight-loss drugs gave ‘hope’ after years of public ridicule

Oprah Winfrey's latest one-off TV program, 'An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution,' saw the TV icon explore her lifelong struggle with her weight.

After decades of being publicly ridiculed, shamed and scrutinized for her fluctuating weight, Oprah Winfrey said she is “really excited” about the availability of weight-loss medication.

The media mogul’s latest one-off TV program, An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution, aired Monday night.

The hourlong broadcast saw Winfrey, 70, candidly discuss obesity and how weight-loss drugs have provided her with “hope.” Winfrey spoke highly of the medications — without mentioning specific name brands like Ozempic — and said she wanted to eliminate the “stigma and the shame and the judgment” around using weight-loss drugs.

In front of a studio audience, Winfrey said she’s been berated for her weight throughout most of her career.

“I have to say that I took on the shame that the world gave to me,” Winfrey said. “For 25 years, making fun of my weight was national sport.”

The talk show host recalled a 1990 cover of the magazine TV Guide that featured her photo and the accompanying headline: “Bumpy, lumpy, and downright dumpy.”

Winfrey went on to read aloud several more disparaging tabloid headlines about her weight, including “Oprah: Fatter than ever” and “Oprah warned diet or die.”

“In an effort to combat all the shame, I starved myself for nearly five months,” Winfrey revealed. “And after losing 67 pounds on a liquid diet, the next day, y’all, the very next day, I started to gain it back.”