Jillian Michaels Accuses Oprah Winfrey Of Promoting Weight Loss Drugs For Monetary Gain: ‘There Is A Financial Interest’

Jillian Michaels, Oprah Winfrey

Jillian Michaels Accuses Oprah Winfrey Of Promoting Weight Loss Drugs For Monetary Gain: ‘There Is A Financial Interest’

Fitness guru Jillian Michaels believes there’s an insidious reason why Oprah Winfrey changed her tune about weight loss pills.

During a recent interview, the celebrity health instructor called out the media mogul for allegedly only promoting the pills because she benefits from it financially.

Jillian Michaels

Jillian Michaels, 49, was asked her opinion on the popular drug Ozempic, which has been endorsed by a significant number of Hollywood entertainers. When asked specifically about Oprah Winfrey’s recent jaw-dropping appearance at The Critics Choice earlier this month – which Winfrey herself has attributed to an unnamed weight loss pill, Michaels explained:

“Oprah has a financial incentive with Ozempic…Oprah, I believe, is one of the biggest shareholders of WeightWatchers, and WeightWatchers is now in the Ozempic business,”

Oprah Winfrey

She continued:

“I believe [WeightWatchers] 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.”

Michaels went on to state that if she believed in the drug and thought it was truly a safe, “easy way out,” she’d capitalize from it just like many others, including Winfrey. However, she also explained that professional and credible doctors she trusts have, across the board, suggested that drugs for weight loss should only be used in life-or-death situations.

The notion is one that Winfrey, 69, also previously shared. A few months before coming out and revealing that she started taking an unnamed supplement to help slim her figure, the billionaire shaded those promoting Ozempic and rallied against it for being the “easy way out”.

However,  a few months later, the famed host claimed that after being more educated about weight loss pills, she decided to stop shaming herself and feeling as though she had to prove herself by keeping the weight off naturally. She explained during an interview:

“I had the biggest aha along with many people in that audience. I realized I’d been blaming myself all these years for being overweight, and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control.”

Adding:

“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. I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”

To date, Winfrey has not outright stated that Ozempic is the drug she’s using, though many suspect that to be the case. As Michaels pointed out, it’s reportedly been confirmed that Weight Watchers has expanded its reach into the “doctor-led access to prescription medication” industry, which includes medications for Type 2 diabetes as well as Ozempic.

Winfrey reportedly purchased a 10% stake in the company back in 2015 and reportedly still has close ties with the brand. Back in December, the company’s CEO reportedly shared that the Oscar-nominated actress “stands by” their “business vision” and “program offering,” reportedly adding:

“We all know that her story has been one that has been a generational story and one that mimics so many people who, on a day-to-day basis, struggle with the same shame and bias, where weight loss has been associated with a preoccupation around thinness,” 

Oprah

It does not appear that Winfrey nor her reps have spoken out about Michaels’ comments at this time.

[VIA]

Do you Oprah Winfrey is only promoting the weight loss pill because she’s financially benefiting from doing so? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!