Whoopi Goldberg, 68, Defends Kelly Clarkson After Weight Loss Backlash
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Whoopi Goldberg is opening up about her experience using the type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro for weight loss.
The EGOT winner has been making headlines recently for a multitude of reasons. She received an invitation to the Vatican, weighed in on the recent controversy surrounding Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, and could even be starring in Sister Act 3 very soon.
The actress isn’t one to stray away from sharing her opinion or addressing controversial topics, such as weight loss drugs or potentially suing a Supreme Court justice and his wife. She’d even like to ask the pope if he’d like to make a cameo in the third Sister Act, per USA Today.
The 68-year-old has been especially candid about her own weight loss journey and the use of weight loss drug Mounjaro. During a May 13 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, she said the medication helped her to lose the weight of “almost two people.”
After Kelly complimented Whoopi on how young she looked, The View co-host replied, "It’s all the weight I’ve lost."
Whoopi first revealed that she had used Mounjaro in March, during a discussion on The View about Oprah’s new special, Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution. “My weight has come and gone and up and down, but it’s never been an issue for me because I don’t listen to what other people say about me," she shared.
But, after gaining weight during a near-fatal health scare, Whoopi said she used Mounjaro to feel like herself again. Here's what she's shared about her weight loss.
She weighed nearly 300 pounds during the making of ‘Till.’
Whoopi realized she had gained weight during the making of Till in 2022. In the film, Whoopi played Mamie Till-Bradley, an educator who wanted justice after the murder of her 14-year-old son Emmett in August 1955. She also produced the movie.
"I will tell you, I weighed almost 300 pounds when I made Till," she said.
She was recovering from a near-fatal health scare.
Till was shot not long after Whoopi recovered from a scary health incident. After catching what she thought was the common cold, the host landed in the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.
The EGOT winner also had sepsis, a life-threatening complication in which the body responds improperly to an infection, per The Mayo Clinic. Instead of fighting the disease, the body turns on itself, causing organs to work poorly.
To treat the diagnoses, Whoopi was prescribed steroids and a number of medications. But the drugs had some adverse side effects.
“I had taken all those steroids, I was on all this stuff,” she shared, noting that she didn’t realize that she had gained weight until she looked at herself in the mirror one day. “I just always felt like me. And then I saw me and I thought, ‘Oh! That’s a lot of me!’”
She has used diabetes drug Mounjaro to lose weight.
Whoopi shared that she used a weight-loss medication to shed the pounds. “One of the things that’s helped me dropped the weight was the Mounjaro. That’s what I used,” she said. (Whoopi’s The View cohost, Sunny Hostin, also shared that she used Mounjaro to lose weight after gaining 40 pounds during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.)
Mounjaro is a medication designed to control blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the medication has also been used off-label for weight loss. The active ingredient in Mounjaro, tirzepatide, has since been FDA-approved for weight loss under the name Zepbound.
Mounjaro is similar to fellow diabetes drug Ozempic, which is also used off-label for weight loss. But, there are a few key differences: The active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, while the active ingredient in Mounjaro is tirzepatide. (Both work to increase insulin production.) Research has found that tirzepatide helps patients lose more weight by targeting an additional receptor.
Whoopi has discussed her weight loss with Kelly Clarkson.
In May, Whoopi opened up about her experience with Mounjaro during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
"I’m doing that wonderful little shot that works for folks who need some help," she told Kelly. "It’s been really good for me."
Whoopi said she had a wake-up call when someone accused her of wearing a "fat suit" while filming Till. "I was indignant," she said. "I was like, 'This is not a fat suit. This is me!' And then you see."
Whoopi didn't realize she wanted to lose weight until that moment. "You’re living your life and you’re doing what you need to do—and that’s the last thing you’re thinking about because you’ve got other stuff on your mind," she continued. "When you realize it, you go, 'Well, damn.' And everyone says, 'Well, I thought you knew.'"
In response, Kelly shared her own experience using a weight loss medication, clarifying that it wasn't Mounjaro or Ozempic. Previously, she said her weight loss was due to a healthy diet and lots of walking.
Later, fans critiqued Kelly online for not being 100 percent transparent about her health journey. Just days later, Whoopi came to her defense on an episode of The View. “They kick her behind when she’s bigger, they kick her behind when she’s lost the weight, and now they’re kicking her behind because she said it out loud.”
"We have to let people do what they need to do to get where they need to get to," she continued. "Stop being mad that they’re not doing it your way. It’s not like we really know what you’re doing."
Ultimately, Whoopi has urged people to be kinder to each other concerning the subjects of weight and weight loss. During a March appearance on The View, she explained: "Maybe the key is to stop judging everybody. Maybe that’s the key."
This isn’t the first time Whoopi has lost weight.
In 2014, Whoopi embarked on a previous weight loss journey after reaching 217 pounds. Former View co-host Sherri Shepherd served as a little bit of inspiration.
She lost “about 35 pounds,” she said on The View, per ABC News.
“I happened to notice that I had begun to look like a linebacker. I happened to look over and there was Sherri, skinny, and I said, ‘What did you do?’ She said, ‘I’ve been doing Rocco DiSpirito’s one pound a day diet.’ I said, ‘Please, I want to do it too.’”
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