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Oprah is parting ways with WeightWatchers after nearly a decade … a decision that comes on the heels of criticism about her proudly revealing she uses a weight loss drug.
The weight loss company made it clear in its official statement Wednesday there’s no bad blood with Oprah … and her departure from the Board of Directors isn’t due to any disagreements with the company or anything related to the company’s operations, policies, or practices.
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WW’s CEO Sima Sistani says, “While I and the rest of our directors will certainly miss her in our board meetings following the end of her current term, she remains a strong strategic voice and collaborator with WeightWatchers.”
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That being said … Oprah’s departure comes a few months after confessing to using weight-loss drugs in December — the admission raised eyebrows, especially as she’d spoken out against medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro months earlier.
As we reported … Oprah revealed she dropped 40 pounds in 2023, and part of her strategy involved medication prescribed by doctors — but she’s never revealed the drug’s name.
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Some people, most notably fitness guru Jillian Michaels, criticized O for not being transparent that WeightWatchers had invested in a popular weight loss drug. The speculation was Oprah stood to profit greatly from advocating for the use of such medication.
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Oprah’s actually directly addressing that criticism as she leaves the company — WW says she’s donating her 1.4% stake in WW to the National Museum of African American History and Culture to “eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications.”
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BTW … the announcement her bolting from WW is putting a hurting on the company’s stock — it plummeted more than 20% immediately after the news broke Thursday morning.
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Wall Street’s bottom line … losing Oprah is never a good thing for any organization — but Oprah’s bottom line is she’s in the best place she’s ever been health-wise, both physically and mentally as she sheds pounds.
We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.
