Media mogul, bread-lover, and weight-loss warrior Oprah Winfrey is releasing a new TV special on Monday, March 18th on ABC (and streaming on Hulu on March 19) called An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution.
This special will explore the controversial, growing trend of people using alternative methods to lose weight. It will feature a signature sit-down conversation with Oprah with medical experts and everyday people who have used Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy, and other prescription diabetes and weight loss medications.
“It is a very personal topic for me and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity,” Winfrey stated in a news release.
The millionaire hopes to dispel the stigma, shame, and judgment associated with weight by speaking with her guests about obesity and health fairness.
Oprah doesn’t take action without reason. And it is evident that she has struggled with weight reduction and has been open about it since the beginning of her public persona.
Over the years, her weight loss journey has been the subject of scrutiny, judgment, and eventually, shame.
Oprah made the decision to get over whatever guilt she felt about seeking help for her weight reduction. The availability of a professionally recommended medication for weight management and maintaining health feels, in her words, “like a gift, like atonement and relief, rather than something to hide behind and be laughed at again. I have had enough of being shamed by others, especially by myself. She now wants the public to use her special to get rid of the guilt.”
“I knew about [weight-loss] pills, but I thought I needed to show that I could stick with them.” “I no longer feel that way,” Winfrey declared while moderating a panel discussion on The State of Weight in 2023 with Sima Sistani, the CEO of WeightWatchers, psychologist Dr. Rachel Goldman, and obesity experts Drs. Fatima Cody Stanford and Melanie Jay. Though she refrained from disclosing the specific drug she took, a very trim Winfrey discussed how she overcame her own “shame” about taking it to lose weight.
Oprah stated, “Even when I first heard about the weight loss medications, I was having knee surgery at the same time, and I felt like I had to do this on my own. Because taking medication is the simple solution. “It should be yours to own and not be ashamed about it. As someone who has endured years of humiliation, I’m just tired of it. I’m simply over it. I’m simply over it.
Additionally, Oprah served as a board member and spokeswoman for the weight-loss lifestyle company Weight Watchers. Since then, she has resigned and suggested giving the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) her 10% stake in the business.