Jillian Michaels Doubles Down on Anti-Ozempic Stance After 'Botched' Star Criticizes Oprah Comments

L: Jillian Michaels, R: Oprah

Jillian Michaels isn't backing down from her anti-Ozempic point of view.

In an exclusive interview with TMZ, the famed personal trainer clapped back at Botched star Dr. Terry Dubrow—in response, of course, to his attempt to discredit her after she publicly criticized Oprah Winfrey for her assumed financial connections to the pharmaceutical company.

The former talk show host has been hawking the medication—originally produced to help type II diabetics with insulin production—as a notable factor in her weight loss, but Michaels pointed out that WeightWatchers, for whom Oprah is a spokesperson, "bought a company that provides access to these drugs, now there is a financial interest in these drugs. I think it’s important to put that out there right off the bat." She called for the television personality to disclose those connections and "educate people so that they can make the best decision for themselves."

According to a December 2023 report from Reuters, in March, WW International bought Sequence, "a digital health program for weight loss that includes handling drug prescriptions" and "since then, clinical subscribers at WW have jumped 23 percent, faster than expected."

Enter Dubrow, who refused to "debate scientific and medical issues with a personal trainer" and made definitively pro-Ozempic statements when he spoke with TMZ earlier this week, concerned that "someone of great influence" might be preventing people from treating "the disease of obesity with these new miracle weight loss drugs."

But Michaels is turning the table back around, calling Dubrow out over an interview from just a few months ago, when he told the publication that three of his patients were in the hospital due to negative side effects related to Ozempic, and encouraged weight loss experts to encourage folks not to rely on such means for weight loss. “Nobody’s talking about this right now — but we need to talk about it,” he said at the time.

As a fitness expert and certified nutritionist, Michaels considers herself "the foremost expert when it comes to taking significant amounts of weight off of people."

While she said she would "never judge an easy way out," as many people believe Ozempic and other similar drugs to be, the trainer denied that it was one. "If I thought this was an easy way out, not only would I personally get on the bandwagon, I would get involved in working with the drug companies and sell it through my weight loss platforms and my weight loss app."

Instead of personally and professionally profiting off of a partnership, she wants "to educate people on the side effects and the ramifications associated with utilizing these drugs."

Next: Jillian Michaels Opens Up About Health Condition That Left Her Worried For Her Life