Oprah Winfrey Opens Up About Quitting Weight Watchers Board After Revealing Use Of Weight-Loss Drugs

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey recently shared her decision to step down from the board of directors of Weight Watchers. She cited the need to maintain impartiality for her upcoming ABC special and eliminate any perceived conflict of interest.

In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, Winfrey discussed her departure and the motivation behind donating her Weight Watchers shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Winfrey emphasized that her decision was driven by a desire to freely address topics in her ABC special, An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution, which aired on Monday night. She pointed out that Weight Watchers had expanded its focus to become a weight health company that also offers weight loss medications, such as Wegovy, as part of its program.

In her resignation from the board, Winfrey aimed to eliminate any potential accusations of financial gain or promotion related to her special. She expressed she wanted to ensure the message conveyed in the program remained untainted by conflicts of interest.

Winfrey’s participation in The State of Weight panel conversation, part of Oprah Daily’s The Life You Want series in September, further showcased her dedication to exploring the complexities and challenges of weight loss journeys. She addressed the pervasive issue of weight-based discrimination and expressed her own experiences of having her weight struggles exploited more than those of any other public figure. Last year, she revealed that she is using weight loss drugs herself.

Winfrey emphasized the significance of weight health as a topic that demands attention on a broader scale.

“This is a world that has shamed people for being overweight forever, and all of us who have lived it know that people treat you differently, they just do,” she said. “And I’m Oprah Winfrey, and I know all that comes with that, but I get treated differently if I’m 200-plus pounds versus under 200 pounds.”

With her departure from the Weight Watchers board, Winfrey made it clear she will continue to advocate for weight health, destigmatize obesity and promote conversations about health equity. Her influential voice contributes to a broader understanding of weight-related challenges and offers hope for a more inclusive and compassionate approach to these issues.

Many celebrities, like Sharon Osbourne, have opened up about using the weight loss drug, Ozempic. Osbourne has complained that she lost too much weight with the drug and “looks like a corpse.”