Oprah Apologizes For Being A 'Major Contributor' To Toxic 'Diet Culture' Over The Years
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Following Oprah Winfrey's backpedal on weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, the longtime WeightWatchers ambassador is apologizing for the role she's played in "diet culture" over her 25-year career.
During a three-hour WW special, she admitted to being a "steadfast participant" through her platforms, magazine, and talk show.
"I’ve been a major contributor to it. I cannot tell you how many weight-loss shows and makeovers I have done, and they have been a staple since I’ve been working in television," Winfrey admitted, according to Page Six.
She even discussed the infamous red Radio Flyer wagon that was stacked with 67 pounds of fat on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1988 to represent the weight she had lost during a liquid-only diet that went on for months.
"I’ve shared how that famous wagon of fat moment on the ‘Oprah’ show is one of my biggest regrets," she continued. "It sent a message that starving yourself with a liquid diet—it set a standard for people watching that I nor anybody else could uphold."
Rebel Wilson, Amber Riley, and Busy Philipps joined the special, along with WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani and several doctors. The conversation also involved the company's shift from diet culture and its rebrand as a weight-health company. Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy were discussed as a medical intervention that shouldn't cause shame.
Winfrey herself opened up about taking weight loss medication in December, despite previously dubbing the method as an "easy way out."
"The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift—and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for," she told People Magazine. "I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself."
Despite the television personality's continued involvement with WeightWatchers and the company's own stance on weight loss medication, Oprah stepped down from its board of directors earlier this year to avoid a conflict of interest, Page Six adds.
Winfrey donated all of her shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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