Oprah Winfrey is leaving the board of WeightWatchers after admitting she used Ozempic to lose weight.
According to Deadline.com, Winfrey is leaving WeightWatchers and donating her stock to avoid any potential conflict of interest over her use of weight-loss drugs.
The entertainment mogul was on the board of WeightWatchers for nearly 10 years.
Winfrey, 70, informed the company of her decision this week that she will not be up for re-election at the annual meeting of shareholders in May 2024.
“I look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
Winfrey added she will continue “working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity.”
Winfrey is donating her stock in WeightWatchers to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. As of Jan. 1, Winfrey’s 1.13 million shares were worth $6.34 million, according to LSEG.
Winfrey initially denied using the popular weight-loss drug, saying she dropped excess pounds by dieting and hiking.
“If I take the drug, that’s the easy way out,” Winfrey said during a State of Weight panel discussion in September.
“Shouldn’t we all just be more accepting of whatever body you choose to be in? That should be your choice,” Winfrey said during the panel. “Even when I first started hearing about the weight loss drugs, at the same time I was going through knee surgery, and I felt, ‘I’ve got to do this on my own. Because if I take the drug, that’s the easy way out.'”
However, Winfrey finally admitted using Ozempic to shed 40 pounds.
The media mogul said she uses weight-loss medication as a “maintenance tool” in addition to diet and exercise.
“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.”
But skeptics say Winfrey only admitted using drugs because WeightWatchers offers Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs to members.
“We got it wrong,” said WeightWatchers’ new CEO Sima Sistani in an interview with CNN.
Sistani said the company is embracing the idea that obesity is a chronic condition that some people need drugs because they can’t manage through willpower alone.
