Oprah Winfrey aims to “liberate” people with her ABC prime time special on weight loss and the rising use of medication to combat obesity.
The billionaire media mogul is gearing up for the premiere of An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution on March 18, and says the special will tackle the “shame and blame” surrounding obesity, weight loss, and the growing use of weight loss injectibles like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Semaglutide.
“I am so excited about it because, as you know, I’ve spent years in this business and been shamed myself. And I just want people to be liberated, and know that, for so many people in this country who are suffering from weight
and obesity, it’s really not your fault — it’s your brain,” Winfrey told ET at the 55th NAACP Image Awards.“So once you figure that out, you can begin to get help to help you manage it, however you choose to do that. So I want people to stop being blamed for the choices that they make about their health.”
The special, announced by ABC earlier this month, will see Winfrey return to television for an in-depth sit down with experts and patients about the impact of prescription weight-loss medications. With a goal of diving into how weight loss medications impact “our health care, economy, lifestyle, and culture,” the talk show veteran will speak in front of a live studio audience to experts and everyday people with firsthand knowledge on “one of the biggest healthcare crises the world has ever known.”
“They’ve had these medications for the past 20 years. I didn’t know that. They’ve been having this medication for 20 years and we’re just now hearing about it,” she said.
Winfrey has
openly struggled with her weight throughout her 40-year career. Remaining transparent about her weight loss journey, the OWN Network founder extends her passion for health to the LGBTQ+ community, which garnered her the Vanguard Award for LGBTQ allyship at the GLAAD Media Awards on March 14.During her emotional acceptance speech, Winfrey paid tribute to her late brother, Jeffrey Lee, who died from AIDS in 1989 when he was 29.
“Growing up at the time we did, in the community that we did, we didn’t have the language to understand or to speak about sexuality and gender in the way that we do now,” Winfrey said.
“At the time, I really didn’t know how deeply my brother internalized the shame that he felt about being gay. I wish he could have lived to witness these liberated times and to be here with me tonight.”
She went on to pledge her support to produce “projects centering LGBTQ storylines” and “hire queer and trans filmmakers to bring authentic characters to the screen.”
“When we can see one another, truly see one another, when we are open to supporting the truth of a fellow human, it makes for a full, rich, vibrant life for us all,” she said. “That’s what I wish my brother Jeffrey could have experienced — a world that could see him for who he was and appreciate him for what he brought to this world.”
RELATED CONTENT: Oprah To Explore ‘Very Personal Topic’ Of Weight Loss Medication In New ABC Special