Oprah slams body shaming: ‘Making fun of my weight was a national sport’

Oprah Winfrey has had enough of body shaming.

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

In a prime-time television special that aired on ABC Monday night, Winfrey read out several headlines that had been written about her in the past, including a TV Guide cover headline in 1990 that branded her “bumpy, lumpy and downright dumpy,” saying she would “never forget” that day.

“I was ridiculed on every late night show for 25 years and tabloid covers for 25 years,” she added, saying she was now setting out to combat the “stigma” and “judgment” surrounding being overweight, and how people “choose to lose or not lose weight.”

The show, titled “Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution,” highlighted the impact that weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are having on patients, while exploring Winfrey’s struggles with weight and her own experience with weight-loss medication.

Last year, Winfrey revealed that she uses weight-loss drugs prescribed by her doctor as a “maintenance tool,” although she did not specify which drug she used. Winfrey said Monday the drugs were bringing “a sense of hope” and also freeing people - including her - from blaming themselves.

Winfrey emphatically described “how many times I have blamed myself,because you think, ‘I’m smart enough to figure this out,’” and the relief she felt when she learned “all along, it’s you fighting your brain.” The new weight-loss drugs that have soared in popularity recently work by suppressing appetite and curbing food cravings.

Winfrey, who was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2007 and who was on the board of WeightWatchers for eight years before quitting in February, has faced unrelenting media scrutiny over her body for decades. She has talked about struggling with yo-yo dieting and has said on her website that she has “fallen prey to just about every diet scam known to womankind.” In a memorable move in 1988, she hauled out 67 pounds of animal fat to show how much weight she had lost on a liquid diet.

Recalling the episode on Monday, Winfrey said she had starved herself “for nearly five months” and that she began putting the weight back on “the very next day.”

On her Monday show, Winfrey also interviewed guests who had taken weight-loss drugs, as well as two physician consultants to weight-loss companies. She said she “never dreamed” that one day there would be a conversation about medicines “that are providing hope for people like me who have struggled for years with being overweight or with obesity.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a number of high-profile weight-loss drugs in recent years. Almost 42 percent of U.S. adults are considered to be obese, and the popularity of such medications is skyrocketing, leading to shortages. The drugs are designed to treat diabetes but are used for obesity at higher doses. The shortages have also led to some diabetes patients struggling to access their medication.

The weight-loss drugs have been welcomed by doctors and patients, even as experts have stressed that the drugs are still new, with some users encountering side effects such asnausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and stomach pain. Studies suggest many users quit the medicines within a year due to their cost or side effects, regaining their weight once they stop, while others have had difficulty accessing the drugs due to issues with their insurers, or have sought injectables on the black market.

The drugs have also drawn concern, with experts highlighting the challenges they pose for those with eating disorders or body dysmorphia, and body positivity campaigners criticizing their targeting of plus-size influencers.

Winfrey acknowledged the controversy over weight-loss medication and the complexity of obesity as she wrapped up the hour-long special on Monday, stressing that “there is space for all points of view.”

“For people who feel happy and healthy celebrating life in a bigger body and don’t want the medications, I say bless you,” she said. “And for all the people who believe diet and exercise is the best and only way to lose excess weight, bless you, too, if that works for you.”

“Let’s stop the shaming and blaming,” Winfrey said. “There’s no place for it.”