Billie Jean King, 80, opens up about trying Ozempic to treat binge eating disorder:
As weight-loss drugs have exploded in popularity this past year, part of the craze has been members of the public wondering which celebrities are on Ozempic.
The drug is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes and has weight loss as a prominent side effect, so it's often prescribed off-label for this reason. The active ingredient in Ozempic, semaglutide, is also approved to treat obesity under the name Wegovy. (Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, previously told TODAY.com in a statement that it does not support off-label use of its medications.)
Examples of other similar drugs include Mounjaro, approved for diabetes, and Zepbound, approved for obesity, both made by Eli Lilly.
It’s hard to escape the numerous Ozempic before-and-after photos on social media of people who have seen drastic results while using the medication. And whenever a celebrity has appeared looking slimmer as of late, the Ozempic accusations always follow.
However, there are a few celebrities who've spoken openly about taking weight-loss medications. Here's what they've said.
(If you are interested in trying a weight-loss medication, talk to your doctor first.)
Oprah Winfrey
During an interview with People in December 2023, Winfrey revealed that she takes a weight-loss drug, but didn't specify which one.
“I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she said.
The TV personality, who has spoken at length about her weight struggles throughout her career, told People the drug helps her maintain a healthy weight.
“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.
Once upon a time, Winfrey considered weight-loss drugs an "easy way out," but she's changed her tune since then.
“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.
Amy Schumer
While chatting with Andy Cohen in June 2023, Schumer confirmed that she did try Ozempic "like a year ago" but quickly stopped due to the side effects.
“I was one of the people that felt like sick, I couldn’t like play with my son,” she said during an episode of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.”
Despite the results she began to see, Schumer said it wasn't worth it to continue taking the drug.
“You’re like, ‘OK, this isn’t livable for me,’ but I immediately invested because I’m like, ‘Everyone and their mom is going to try it,’” she said.
The comedian also encouraged other celebrities to be more honest if they are using Ozempic or similar medications.
“Everybody (is) lying, everyone’s like, ‘Oh, smaller portions,’ like shut the f--- up, you’re on Ozempic or one of those things,” she said. “Just be real with the people.”
Tracy Morgan
While appearing on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna in August 2023, Morgan approached the topic of his Ozempic use in a comedic way.
“You’ve been working on your body and on your health,” Hoda Kotb said.
Morga cheekily replied: "No, that's Ozempic. That’s how this weight got lost."
It initially seemed like a joke, but he later confirmed it was true. “I went and got a prescription and I got Ozempic,” he said. “And I ain’t letting it go!”
In a March 2024 appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Morgan said he's gained weight on Ozempic.
“I’ve learned to out-eat Ozempic. I out-ate Ozempic. I’ve gained 40 pounds,” Morgan quipped with a joking tone.
It's not clear if Morgan is still taking the medication, but gaining weight after stopping a weight-loss drug is common, research shows.
Sharon Osbourne
Osbourne has been open about her weight struggles over the years and recently revealed that she had taken Ozempic to help manage her weight. However, she felt she lost too much weight and didn't want to continue the medication.
“I lost 42 pounds now and it’s just enough,” she said during an episode of Piers Morgan’s podcast, per E! news. “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 she experienced nausea as a side effect
“You don’t throw up physically but you’ve got that feeling," she said. "I was about two, three weeks where I felt nauseous the whole time. You get very thirsty and you don’t want to eat. That’s it.”
Heather Gay
In November 2023, the "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star told People that she was "on the Ozempic train" and had been taking it "for a long time."
"I haven’t had massive results, but enough for people to notice, which is great," she added.
Chelsea Handler
During a January 2023 appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, Chelsea Handler said that her anti-aging doctor "just hands (Ozempic) out to anybody."
“I didn’t even know I was on it. She said, ‘If you ever want to drop 5 pounds, this is good,’” Handler recalled.
When the comedian returned from a vacation, she said decided to take an injection of the drug, not fully understanding what it was.
"I went to lunch with a girlfriend a few days later, and she was like, ‘I’m not really eating anything. I’m so nauseous, I’m on Ozempic,’” she said. “And I was like, ‘I’m kind of nauseous too.’ But I had just come back from Spain and was jet-lagged.”
At that point, Handler stopped using the medication.
“I’m an irresponsible drug user, but I’m not gonna take a diabetic drug," she said. "I tried it, and I’m not going to do that. That’s not for me. That’s not right for me.”
Remi Bader
When she was pre-diabetic and gaining weight in 2020, Bader's doctor recommended that she try Ozempic.
“They said I need this. And I had a lot of mixed feelings,” she told People in January 2023. “A few months later, I went off it and got into the bad binging.”
“It was making me think I wasn’t hungry for so long, I lost some weight," she continued. "I didn’t want to be obsessed with being on it long term. I was like, I bet the second I got off I’m going get starving again. I did, and my binging got so much worse."
Claudia Oshry
The social media personality was frank about her use of Ozempic in August 2023.
“You thought they were going to make a weight-loss drug and I wasn’t going to take it?” she said during an episode of her podcast, per People. “You’re dumb. Of course, I’m f—ing taking it.”
Oshry acknowledged that she was a "little embarrassed" when she first went on the drug.
“Like, ‘Oh my God, I have to inject myself with something just to get my fat a-- to stop eating. Other people can do it without, why can’t I?’ In the beginning, my decision to not share was rooted in a little bit of shame,” she said.
Although she had success with Ozempic, Oshry was clear that she wasn't trying to offer medical advice to anyone.
“It’s what’s working for me now. That’s the only reason I’ve been kind of hesitant to talk about it because I don’t want to be like, ‘I’ve figured it out. I’ve solved the problem for life.’ I have not,” she said.
She's since revealed that she's no longer on the medication and has since noticed some surprising changes in her body.
"I’m so hungry all the ... time and I’m always looking for good treats because I’m still trying to lose weight but on my own,” she said in a March 2024 TikTok. “I’m always looking for snacks and things to fill me up.”
"I cannot stay full. It’s impossible," she continued. "I just had a 12-ounce steak, and I’m starving so I’m eating popcorn. How are we staying full?"
Patti Stanger
In February 2023, "Millionaire Matchmaker" star Patti Stanger said that she has tried several medications for weight loss.
“I’m on the shot,” she said during an episode of the "Behind the Velvet Rope" podcast. “I’m going to tell you the truth. I went on semaglutide, which is the ingredient in Ozempic.”
Afterward, she experienced side effects and stopped taking the drug after three weeks. Then, Stanger tried Mounjaro. She didn't experience the same side effects while taking this medication.
“I am not nauseous like everybody else,” she said.
Emily Simpson
Over the summer, the star of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" said she started taking Ozempic after learning that she was pre-diabetic and had high cholesterol.
“I (took Ozempic) in December for one month,” Simpson said, adding that it was a “great kickstart” and “worked amazing.”
The reality star lost between 5 and 7 pounds and said the drug made her "more conscientious of what I was eating." But she stopped using it because of the side effects.
“It made me feel lethargic, and it made me just not have a lot of energy, which was hard with three little kids,” she said.
Dolores Catania
While chatting with Andy Cohen in April 2023, the star of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" said she had been taking Ozempic.
“What housewife isn’t on Ozempic?” Cohen mused, per People.
“Not one … I wasn’t going to come to (the) reunion looking bigger than anyone else, so I got on the bandwagon,” she said.
Catania said she hadn't experienced any negative side effects.
Lauren Manzo
After she was considered "morbidly obese" by a doctor, the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" alum said started taking Mounjaro. Per People, the reality star lost a significant amount of weight while taking the drug.
“Since February, I’ve lost 30 pounds from Mounjaro,” she said in May 2023 during a podcast episode. “And I get it — people don’t like it, people don’t applaud it, people aren’t whatever, but it’s a shot in your stomach once a week. … You guys have seen the struggle with this since I’m 20 years old, and it’s been really hard for me.”
Manzo said the drug has helped her more than other weight-loss methods.
“I mean, I’m not going lie, I feel like there have been times that I’ve been on the brink of an eating disorder or had issues myself. And this is the one thing — even above weight loss surgery — that has helped me a lot and cured me and mentally made me so much better. And I’m really grateful for it,” she said.
Golnesa ‘GG’ Gharachedaghi
In June 2023, the "Shahs of Sunset" star told her social media followers that she'd lost more weight than she intended to while taking Ozempic.
Per People, the star started off at 138 pounds and got down to 110 pounds after using the drug.
“Will I come off of it? Maybe. Will I gain it all back? Maybe. But for now, I’m enjoying the way I look. I’m enjoying what it’s doing for me,” she said. “I encourage it to anybody who’s having a hard time losing weight and wants the ‘easy route.’ Summer’s around the corner. I’m not trying to stress that being skinny is what you should do, but truth is, some of y’all want to do it. So I’m talking to you guys… not the f—ing haters.”
Luckily, Gharachedaghi said, she didn't experience side effects, such as Ozempic face, from the rapid weight loss.
“As you can see, it did not affect my face. Yes, I do get fillers and Botox and all that but I haven’t gotten anything (recently). So just so you can see, it’s not sagging,” she said.
Charles Barkley
The former NBA star shared on his CNN show "King Charles" that he lost 65 pounds while taking Mounjaro. But he's been off it for about four months and has since gained 12 pounds back.
"There’s so many different ways to lose weight," he said. "There’s no shoe size that fits all. But I gained 105 pounds ... and a friend of mine says, 'Yo, man, I want you to go to this doctor,' because I can’t eat less and work out enough to lose 100 pounds."
"And he says, try this drug. And I started taking Mounjaro. And I have lost 65 pounds. I started my journey at 355 pounds. I played at 250. ... I’m down to 285."
While Barkley said his doctor told him he's now at a "good, healthy weight," he's hoping to go back on Mounjaro and lose another 15 pounds.
Billie Jean King
During an April 2024 appearance on the “Wiser Than Me” podcast with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the 80-year-old tennis great shared that she started taking Ozempic because she hoped it would help manage her eating disorder. She's taken a few injections so far, she said.
“I’m a binge eater. Every morning I wake up, I tell myself, ‘I have an eating disorder,’” King explained. “I still go to therapy. I still think about it.”
“It’s two sides. Let’s say I want a quart of ice cream. One side will say, ‘Yeah, baby, I’m going to have that ice cream no matter what!’” she continued. “The other side says, ‘No, don’t do that. It’s not healthy. You know you don’t need it.’”
King shared that she started using Ozempic on her physician’s recommendation. Some people on the weight loss medication have reported that they think about food much less.
“If (weight-loss medication) does quiet the voices — if that’s a part of it — now I’m (interested in) it because that would be really great, because that gets exhausting and tiring. And I don’t want to fight over these things.”
She added that her goal for taking Ozempic is not to lose weight fast because "I think it looks horrible. ... I would like to lose it slowly."
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
