Al Roker Defends Kelly Clarkson Amid Criticism Of Her Weight Loss Drug Use
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Al Roker has a message for Kelly Clarkson’s critics who slammed her for saying that she’s taking medication for weight loss.
“There’s too much judgment going on,” Roker, 69, said Tuesday on the “Today” show while discussing Clarkson’s recent revelation.
“People, as long as they’re working with their doctors and being healthy about it, people ought to just back off and let them live their lives,” the famous weatherman added.
Roker, who has been vocal about his own battle with obesity, recalled that it was “not easy” to slim down after gastric bypass surgery in 2002.
“Listen, I took a raft of stuff when I had bypass surgery. It’s not easy, whatever you do, so get off people’s backs,” he said.
On Monday’s episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the singer told her guest Whoopi Goldberg that she’s lost weight with the support of an undisclosed medication after her “bloodwork got so bad.”
“My doctor chased me for two years, and I was like, ‘No, I’m afraid of it,’” Clarkson recalled. “I already have thyroid problems. Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic, but it’s not. It’s something else.”
Ozempic, a treatment for Type 2 diabetes that helps lower blood sugar levels, has taken off in popularity as many celebrities, including Amy Schumer and Sharon Osbourne, have said they take the injectable medication for its off-label use for weight loss.
The Food and Drug Administration has not approved Ozempic for weight loss. Drugs similar to Ozempic, however, have been approved for patients with weight control issues along with other chronic conditions related to weight.
Speaking with People magazine in January, Clarkson also credited her slimmer figure to walking a lot after recently moving her family to New York City.
“Walking in the city is quite the workout,” she told People. “And I’m really into infrared saunas right now. And I just got a cold plunge because everybody wore me down.”
