Hollywood’s Ozempic Olympics! It’s the reason these 11 celebrities have lost huge amounts of weight – but some claim it’s ‘amazing’ while others warn you’ll vomit 5 times a day
Variety magazine joked in 2022 that Ozempic deserved its own thank-you speech at the Emmys, because so many stars on the podium had obviously been taking it.
Hype around the drug hit the general public last year, but as with most trends it had already been doing the rounds in Hollywood, with celebrity fans including Kelly Osbourne, 39, Oprah Winfrey, 70, Amy Schumer, 42 and Boy George, 62, all admitting to using it.
However while many raved about the new weight loss jab, other celebrities have spoken out to warn others of the grim after-effects.
Sharon Osbourne, 71, has voiced both the benefits and negative effects of using the drug, telling ITV’s Loose Women she stood by using it but she did regret continuing to take the jabs after her weight dropped below seven stone, saying ‘Be careful what you wish for’.
While Stephen Fry, 66, said his ‘astonishing’ weight loss came at a price, after Ozempic caused him to vomit up to five times a day.
Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry, 66, said his ‘astonishing’ weight loss came at a price, after Ozempic caused him to vomit up to five times a day
Stephen Fry has become the latest big name star to warn of the dangers of the drug, The Mirror reported.
He attributes his obsession with food to his childhood in Norfolk, and the cook Mrs Riseborough employed by his parents Marianne and Alan who was a ‘good English plain cook’.
After years of battling with his weight as a result, Fry said he was pleasantly surprised by the drug’s effectiveness and found it stopped all of his cravings for food and alcohol.
He said: ‘The first week or so, I was thinking, “This is astonishing. Not only do I not want to eat, I don’t want any alcohol of any kind. This is going to be brilliant.
‘Then I started feeling sick, and I started getting sicker and sicker and sicker. I was throwing up four, five times a day and I thought, “I can’t do this”. So that’s it. The new variant, Tirzepatide Mounjaro, makes it even worse apparently.’
Fry, who is married to comedian Elliott Spencer, says he was at his heaviest in April 2019 when his weight came to nearly 21st.
But by August of that year, he had lost five and a half stone after taking the drug.
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne is a vocal fan of Ozempic even calling the drug ‘amazing’ while speaking to E! News in February
Kelly Osbourne is a vocal fan of Ozempic even calling the drug ‘amazing’ while speaking to E! News in February.
Part of the appeal to Kelly was that she found it less ‘boring’ than changing one’s diet and increasing exercise to lose weight.
‘There are a million ways to lose weight, why not do it through something that isn’t as boring as working out?’ she said.
The daughter of Ozzy Osbourne went further, accusing critics of the medication and similar drugs of being jealous or deceitful.
‘People hate on it because they want to do it. And the people who hate on it the most are the people who are secretly doing it or pissed off that they can’t afford it. Unfortunately, right now, it’s something that is very expensive, but it eventually won’t be because it actually works.’
Oprah Winfrey
Speaking in An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution , Oprah fought back tears as she revealed how the drugs had meant she was no longer ‘constantly thinking about what the next meal is going to be’
The television host finally admitted to using the weight-loss drug in December — after previously vowing she would never use Ozempic or a similar drug because they were the ‘easy way out’.
The 70-year-old had lost more than 18kg over recent months, which led to speculation that she used the weight loss medication to help.
Oprah previously revealed she weighed 107.5kg at her heaviest, however she did not say what her current weight was.
She revealed in an interview with People that she ‘now [uses] it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing’.
‘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 did not reveal which weight loss drug she used, although many speculated that she had got a prescription for Ozempic.
Oprah said she took the medication before Thanksgiving, and credited it with ensuring she only gained half a pound rather than eight.
Speaking in An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, she fought back tears as she revealed how the drugs had meant she was no longer ‘constantly thinking about what the next meal is going to be’.
She said ‘for 25 years, making fun of my weight was national sport’ and that over the years she had ‘lost some weight’ and ‘put back on some weight’ but since starting to take medication she had stopped ‘obsessing’ about food.
Along with messages of support online, some viewers slammed Oprah, accusing her of ‘promoting big pharma and pushing Ozempic’ and criticizing her for taking the drugs after spending nine years promoting Weight Watchers.
The show was released days after Oprah quit her Weight Watchers board role, citing a potential ‘conflict of interest’ with the show, which heavily featured weight loss drug brands.
During the show, Oprah pushed back at people she said wanted to ‘shame’ her for her weight and for taking the drugs.
She said: ‘I come to this conversation in the hope that we can start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment… to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they chose to lose and not lose weight.’
She added: ‘All these years, I thought all of the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower and they were for some reason stronger than me.
‘But now I realize y’all weren’t even thinking about the food. It’s not that you had the willpower. You weren’t even thinking about it. You weren’t obsessing about it.’
Now, she said: ‘I use it as a tool, combined with hiking three or five miles a day or running. It’s not just one thing, it’s multiple things for me.’
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne has also revealed she took Ozempic — but said she lost so many pounds on the drug that she ‘needed to put weight back on’
Sharon Osbourne has also revealed she took Ozempic — but said she lost so many pounds on the drug that she ‘needed to put weight back on’.
The 71-year-old started taking the drug in 2023 when she weighed 142lbs (64.4kg).
She shed more than 45lbs (20kg) on the medication, but then her weight fell down to 97lbs (43kg).
‘I can’t afford to lose anymore,’ she said. My weight has stabilized. I went down to about 97lb (43kg) and it was like, ‘oh no!’. I needed to put some weight back on, which I have.’
She added while speaking to Women magazine: ‘You can lose so much weight and it’s easy to become addicted to that, which is very dangerous.
‘I couldn’t stop losing weight and now I’ve lost 42lbs — and I can’t afford to lose anymore.’
She added that when she first went on the drug she felt ‘very nauseous’ and was vomiting regularly. It took about two weeks for this to subside.
She urged people to keep the drug away from teenagers, saying it was just ‘too easy’ to become addicted.
She recently revealed doctors ‘can’t figure out’ why she hasn’t been able to gain weight back after she stopped using Ozempic months ago.
Asked about her weight loss in an interview with Woman Magazine released on Tuesday, Sharon said that even medics are stumped by her inability to gain the weight back.
The doctors can’t figure it out,’ she said. ‘But I think it’s just because I’m getting older and as you get older you lose weight anyway and shrink and shrivel off.’
Sharon started taking Ozempic in December 2022 and in November 2023 she told Mail On Sunday: ‘I’ve been off it a while now.’
Boy George
Boy George said he has taken both Ozempic and Mounjaro for weight loss. The singer also got a tummy tuck several years ago after shedding 100 pounds
Boy George opened up about his fluctuating weight in his memoir Karma, which was released last year.
‘I know I don’t enjoy being overweight and it’s something I really want to deal with,’ he wrote.
‘I have struggled with my weight most of my life and being under public and media scrutiny doesn’t help.’
The Karma Chameleon singer, 62, wrote that he started out with Ozempic and then switched to Mounjaro.
The truth behind new diet drug craze – Hollywood is hooked on it, and social media is fanning demand for the latest weight-loss ‘miracle’
What is Ozempic used for?
Semaglutide, or Ozempic as it is branded, ia a new diet drug that everybody that’s become a buzzword for miracle weight loss.
Originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, it is used off-label (for a purpose other than that for which it was licensed) in both the US and the UK to treat obesity.
In research conducted by its billionaire manufacturer, the Danish-based pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, patients lost an average of 17 per cent of their overall body weight over 68 weeks. This compares with five to nine per cent for ‘oldschool’ anti-obesity drugs such as Metformin.
How do you get it?
Only available in the UK on the NHS if you have type 2 diabetes, Ozempic can be obtained through a private doctor, and if you are willing to take it without medical supervision – not recommended by doctors (see panel) – you can get it online through various weight-loss programmes. It is sometimes taken in tablet form but more commonly as an injection.
Originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, Semaglutide is used off-label. It has been branded as a new diet drug that everybody is apparently taking
Thanks to the hype, there has been a surge in demand, causing shortages on both sides of the Atlantic, with a backlash against influencers and celebrities hogging supplies ahead of desperate diabetes sufferers.
Predictably, Big Pharma has come up with an alternative – tirzepatide (brand name Mounjaro), manufactured by Eli Lilly – but it has yet to be approved by the US Food & Drug Administration for weight loss.
How does the drug work?
Semaglutide belongs to a class called GLP-1 agonists, which not only regulate blood sugar but, as was discovered about a decade ago, also mimic the gut hormones that regulate our appetites – the ones that tell the brain when we are hungry or full.
What are the side effects?
There are, of course, side effects: acid reflux, nausea, exacerbation of IBS symptoms and fatigue (but much less so than in earlier GLP-1 agonists such as Saxenda), as well as pancreatitis, gallstones and, in very high doses, it has caused thyroid tumours in rats. Meanwhile, when you stop using it the effect wears off immediately and in some cases it won’t work at all.
Mounjaro uses the active ingredient tirzepatide, which targets GLP-1 and the hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). Mounjaro is only FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes.
George wrote: ‘I love food, and I can’t control my appetite, but I think I have finally got it under control.’
‘Well, I’m on Mounjaro. Isn’t everyone? Trust me, anyone who was fat last year and is not skinny is on the wonder drug.’
The singer also got a tummy tuck several years ago ‘to get rid of excess skin’ after losing 100 pounds.
Heather Gay
Heather Gay admitted to taking Ozempic for several months. However, the reality star said she had yet to see significant results
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star announced that she has been taking Ozempic to lose weight.
At Variety’s Women of Reality TV event, she said that while she uses the drug, she has yet to see a big difference.
‘I’ve been on it for a long time, but hadn’t really seen much results,’ she told People.
She also said that people around her started acting differently when they learned she was on Ozempic, which she found ‘discouraging.’
‘You lose five pounds, people are nicer to you,’ the 49-year-old said. ‘I don’t know why. It’s just the way the world works, and that makes me sad for women.’
‘But I’m happy that I’m down five.’
Tracy Morgan
Comedian Tracy Morgan said he lost several pounds using Ozempic. ‘It cuts my appetite in half. Now I only eat half a bag of Doritos,’ he said during a television appearance
The comedian has also revealed he was taking Ozempic, saying the drug ‘cuts my appetite in half.’
The 55-year-old said he had lost several pounds on the drug and that he ‘ain’t letting it go.’
Speaking on the Today show, the star said he injected himself with the drug every Thursday to help with weight loss.
When told he had been working on his body and health a lot on the show, he said: ‘No, that’s Ozempic.
‘That’s how this weight got lost. I went and got a prescription and I got Ozempic. And I ain’t letting it go! It cuts my appetite in half. Now I only eat half a bag of Doritos.’
Elon Musk
Elon Musk said he lost almost 30lbs while taking Ozempic. The billionaire’s weight-loss journey was sparked by an unflattering photo taken on a yacht
One of the world’s richest men said Ozempic made him ‘fit, ripped and healthy’, Elon Musk said he lost almost 30lbs (13.6kg) while taking the drug.
He revealed that he was using it in October 2022 when a fan asked what the secret was to his new slimmed-down appearance. Musk, 53, replied ‘Fasting’, before adding: ‘And Wegovy’.
He has also said his transformation was down to: ‘Fasting + Ozempic/Wegovy + no tasty food for me.’
He said his weight-loss journey was prompted after seeing unflattering images of himself on a yacht. The 53-year-old’s weight loss formula prompted admiration from fans.
He also admitted to suffering a side effect from the drug. A Twitter user asked: ‘Does it give you those nasty burps? Taste like rotten eggs lol ugh.’ He replied: ‘Yeah, next-level.’
Robbie Williams
Singer-songwriter Robbie Williams shared he was taking ‘something like Ozempic,’ adding: ‘And I need it, medically. I’ve been diagnosed with type 2 self-loathing’
Robbie Williams said that he’s on ‘something like Ozempic’ to keep the pounds off. After overcoming addictions to drugs and alcohol, the hitmaker has revealed that he’s on a mission to better his health.
‘Babe, I’m on Ozempic,’ he told The Times. ‘Well, something like Ozempic. It’s like a Christmas miracle.’
The 50-year-old, who did not reveal exactly what drug or regimen he’s on, said that he has lost 25 pounds so far.
Williams has also said that he struggles with body dysmorphia, a mental health condition that causes a person to obsess over flaws in their appearance, such as weight.
‘And I need it, medically. I’ve been diagnosed with type 2 self-loathing,’ he said. It’s shockingly catastrophic to my mental health to be bigger.’
Amy Schumer
Comedian-actress Amy Schumer tried the medication but quickly gave it up, as she became so sickly that she was unable to play with her son
The comedian and actress revealed that she had tried the medication — but quickly gave it up.
The 42-year-old said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen: ‘Like a year ago, I tried it.
‘I was one of those people that felt so sick and couldn’t play with my son. I was so skinny and he’s throwing a ball at me and [I couldn’t].’
She said she quickly gave up the medication, realizing it was not for her. She said: ‘And you’re like, ‘OK, this isn’t livable for me’. But I immediately invested [in it] because I knew everyone was going to try it.’
Schumer revealed that she had opted for liposuction, however, to help lose weight.
She said: ‘I just wanted to say that because if anybody sees me in pictures or anything and they’re like, she looks thinner, and whatever: It’s because I had a surgery.’
Emily Simpson
Emily Simpson lost about seven pounds on Ozempic. The Real Housewives of Orange County star said she began taking the medication after learning she may be prediabetic
Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson started taking Ozempic after a doctor suggested she may be prediabetic.
‘So I did. I did that in December,’ she said last year. For one month and you know, that was a great kickstart for me.’
She said that Ozempic helped her kick habits like ‘grazing’ and ‘not really paying attention’ to what she was eating.
She lost about seven pounds on the drug but stopped taking it due to exhaustion.
‘I didn’t like the way it made me feel lethargic and it made me just not have a lot of energy, which was hard with three little kids, but it does make you feel full and it does make you, for me, it was like a refresh,’ she said.