Even Oprah Is Struggling to Navigate the Ozempic Era
The Queen of All Media is trying to reset our national conversation about body size. Free PR for drug companies won’t cut it.
A force of nature.
Photographer: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BETDaytime TV icon and media mogul Oprah Winfrey has entered the obesity drug chat. Last night, Winfrey, who has spent most of her life publicly wrestling with her weight, offered viewers a prime-time look at the obesity drug revolution, led by Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (often called by the name of its diabetes counterpart Ozempic) and Eli Lilly & Co.’s Zepbound.
The conversation was intended to lift the stigma and shame around obesity, and it’s no question that Winfrey has significant power when it comes to changing minds and hearts. Her story around coming to accept the root of her struggle with weight is likely to resonate with many. She got to the heart of it in one teary moment: “When I tell you how many times I have blamed myself because you think, ‘I’m smart enough to figure this out,’ and then to hear all along, it’s you fighting your brain.”