Tracy Morgan clarifies his comments on Ozempic weight gain, says he takes it 'every Thursday'

Tracy Morgan is hitting the record scratch on his recent comments about using Ozempic.

"The Last O.G." star, 55, previously claimed he gained weight while using the medication, an adverse result of it's intended purpose. On Wednesday, he told E! News his comments were "just a joke."

However, it wasn't a joke that he used the semaglutide medication. "Ozempic did great by me and I was glad to use it. I take Ozempic every Thursday," he said. "It cuts my appetite in half.”

On an episode of "The Tonight Show" on March 19, host Jimmy Fallon asked Morgan how he was staying fit these days. "Oh that's Ozempic," Morgan responded. "I’ve learned to out-eat Ozempic. I out-ate Ozempic. I’ve gained 40 pounds."

When Fallon questioned the "30 Rock" star, he quipped, "I’m like Magic Johnson. I gained 40 pounds."

All jokes aside, Morgan first mentioned he was using the medication for weight loss during an August episode of "Today with Hoda & Jenna."

"That’s how this weight got lost. … I went and got a prescription and I got Ozempic. I'm not letting it go," he said, adding, "It cuts my appetite in half. Now I only eat half a bag of Doritos."

Morgan is the latest celebrity to comment on using medication for weight loss, from Oprah Winfrey who extensively discussed the stigma of using weight loss drugs in the ABC special "An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution" to "Pioneer Woman" star Ree Drummond, who shared that she "did not" use any drugs or supplements in her 50-pound slimdown.

ABC weight loss special: Oprah Winfrey reveals she starved herself 'for nearly five months'

How does Ozempic work for weight loss?

Ozempic is the brand name of semaglutide, just one of many in a drug class known as incretins.

"Semaglutide (Ozempic or Wegovy) sends signals to the appetite center in your brain to reduce hunger and increase fullness," according to Dr. Deborah Horn, an associate professor in the Department of Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. "This helps you feel full with smaller meals and decreases the need for snacks … Wegovy decreases what we call 'food noise' so that we aren't thinking about food as much or using food to try and solve other problems."

In June 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved the semaglutide – under the brand name Wegovy –  as a treatment for chronic obesity. Since then, interest in the drug, which requires weekly injections, has skyrocketed.

'Ozempic babies' are surprising women taking weight loss drugs. Doctors think they know why.

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Delaney Nothaft

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tracy Morgan clarifies Ozempic weight gain comments