Not Ozempic! Kelly Clarkson says medication behind her weight loss is ‘something else’
Kelly Clarkson might not be on Hollywood‘s Ozempic bandwagon, but she recently revealed she’s getting weight-loss help from another medication.
The “Breakaway” singer and host of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” opened up about her weight loss in an episode that aired Monday. She bonded with guest Whoopi Goldberg, who admitted she was “doing that wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help.”
“Mine’s a different one than what people assume, but I ended having to do that too because my blood work got so bad,” Clarkson, 42, told the “Sister Act” star.
Barbra Streisand’s ‘Ozempic’ comment to Melissa McCarthy on Monday garnered mixed reaction on social media. ‘I think she thought this was a DM?’ wrote one X user.
Clarkson, who began the weight loss back-and-forth after complimenting her guest on her looks, said she was previously unaware of her own heavier figure. She said later in the segment that she was 203 pounds at her heaviest. “I didn’t see it,” said the singer, who noted she is 5 feet, 3 inches tall.
The three-time Grammy winner said her doctor had recommended treatment (which she did not name during the segment) for two years, but she was hesitant to give it a try due to “thyroid problems.”
She added: “Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic. It’s not, it’s something else. It’s something that aids and breaks down the sugar ... my body doesn’t do it right.”
Ozempic, a brand name for semaglutide, is an injectable diabetes medication that has become Hollywood’s go-to quick weight-loss fix. Amy Schumer, Sharon Osbourne, Chelsea Handler and Tracy Morgan are among the stars who have been public about using Ozempic.
The weight-loss version of Ozempic is called Wegovy, while the weight-loss version of injectable diabetes drugs Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Victoza (liraglutide) are called Zepbound and Saxenda, respectively. In very rare cases, all three might cause thyroid tumors, according to prescribing information.
Oprah Winfrey’s split with WeightWatchers after 10 years on its board comes just before her special airs on weight-loss drugs.
After starting treatment, Clarkson said she was shocked to see what she looked like before. “Who the f— is that?” she recalled saying when she saw video footage of herself pre-medication. Goldberg shared a similar experience, noting that a critic thought the actor wore a fat suit when she appeared in the 2022 film “Till.”
“I don’t really care how you felt about the movie, but you should know that was not a fat suit, that was me,” Goldberg fired back at the time.
Clarkson responded, saying she never felt insecure about her weight and was happy with her life, despite speculation otherwise.
Referring to previous footage of herself, Clarkson joked: “She is, any second now, going to die.”
With her daytime talk show, “The Voice” judge and “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson hopes to make you feel better — without hiding heartbreaks of her own.
Opening up about self-image isn’t anything new to the Emmy-winning host. In a 2017 interview with Attitude, she revealed that she felt suicidal when she was “really skinny.”
In the past, the singer has also defended herself from body-shamers including CNN anchor Chris Wallace.
Earlier this year, Clarkson told People that moving her talk show to New York City also impacted her lifestyle. She told the outlet in a January cover story about walking around the city, her affinity for “infrared saunas” and cold plunges, her diet and how she’s “listening to my doctor.”
“I was going through a really rough few years, and even in the first season it was rough behind closed doors,” she said. “Just to be able to come into Season 5 feeling good and knowing my kids feel good — and the dust has settled. Season 5 is my first season to actually enjoy every minute of it.”
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