Oprah Winfrey faces backlash over claim about ‘thin people’ after taking weight loss drug

Oprah Winfrey faced backlash on social media after making a bold statement about “thin people” in light of her experience using a diet drug to lose weight.

“One of the things I realized the very first time I took a GLP-1 was that all these years I thought that thin people – these people – just had more willpower,” the former talk show host said during a conversation with Dr. Ania Jastreboff on “The Oprah Podcast” Tuesday.

“They ate better food. They were able to hold on to it longer. They’ve never eaten chips.

“And then I realized the very first time I took GLP-1, oh, they didn’t even think about it,” Winfrey, 70, continued. “They only eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full.”

After the brief clip of the conversation was shared via Instagram, many people expressed their disapproval in the comments.

“Thin people also think about food all the time, but they work hard to manage their physical and mental needs in a healthy way, not by taking medication,” one user wrote.

Another echoed: “I think about it all the time, but I don’t eat it.” »

A third user called the media mogul’s revelation “just a lie.”

“There are many thin people, or other people at a healthy weight but not necessarily “thin,” who actually use willpower and strategic tactics to keep their weight low. They create an environment that, unlike most of our society, is NOT obesogenic,” the user wrote, adding that they “forbid” themselves from eating until they have “walked for an hour.” .

“Just because you’re following a new movement doesn’t mean you have to speak in a way that suggests your perception of reality is definitive. This is not the case,” the person concluded.

Winfrey confirmed she was taking a weight-loss drug in December 2023 after years of yo-yo dieting.

“The fact that there is a medically approved prescription to manage my weight and stay healthier, over the course of my life, feels like a relief, a redemption, a gift, not something to hide behind and be at a loss for. ridiculed again,” she said at the time. .

After making this announcement, she resigned from her position on the WeightWatchers board of directors.