Oprah Winfrey will host an ABC primetime special about weight loss drugs, airing on ABC. Oprah recorded the special, titled “An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution,” in front of a live studio audience, where she gathers medial experts to discuss weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy. The medical experts featured in the primetime special are Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. W. Scott Butsch, ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Dr. Amanda Velazquez.
Oprah in a statement: “It is a very personal topic for me and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity. This special will bring together medical experts, leaders in the space and people in the day-to-day struggle to talk about health equity and obesity with the intention to ultimately release the shame, judgment and stigma surrounding weight.”
Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, in a statement: “We are thrilled to work with Oprah and the voices she has assembled to open a dialogue that destigmatizes and educates viewers on the important and polarizing topic of weight loss. I can think of no one better to lead this meaningful conversation about such a critical issue that touches all of our lives.”
Oprah recently announced she was stepping down from the board of WeightWatchers after almost 10 years. She had served on the company’s board since 2015, when she acquired a 10% stake in WeightWatchers. The news cam after Winfrey told People magazine last December that she decided to start taking a weight-loss medication: “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.”
“An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution” airs Monday, March 18 at 8pm ET on ABC and streams on Hulu the next day.
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