Kelly Clarkson has addressed speculation about her weight loss, saying she has not used Ozempic but “something else” which has helped her.
The singer and talk show host spoke about the issue with actress Whoopi Goldberg, who has also lost a lot of weight after having treatment, in an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Numerous Hollywood stars are rumoured to have used Ozempic to lose weight – but just a handful of celebrities have admitted it publicly.
Whoopi Goldberg says she has lost “almost two people” in weight. Pic: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP 2023
The medication was originally designed for people with diabetes, suppressing the appetite and lengthening the amount of time food stays in the stomach, leading to weight loss.
On the show, Goldberg, 68, told Clarkson she had “lost almost two people” in weight by “doing that wonderful shot that works for folks that need some help”. She has previously spoken about using the medication Mounjaro, another diabetes drug approved for weight loss in the US.
Clarkson, 42, responded by sharing her own story: “My doctor chased me for like two years and I was like, ‘No, I’m afraid of it. I already have thyroid problems’,” she said. “Everybody thinks it Ozempic. It’s not.”
Instead, Clarkson said she had used “something else… that aids in helping break down the sugar – obviously my body doesn’t do it right”.
She weighed 203 pounds, or 14.5 stone, at her heaviest, she said, and decided to begin her weight loss journey after watching a performance of herself and not recognising who she was watching on screen.
“You see it, and you’re like, ‘well, she’s about to die of a heart attack’,” Clarkson said.
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The American Idol star was also told she was pre-diabetic earlier this year.
In January, she told People, she had lost weight after listening to her doctor and was eating “a healthy mix”.
Ozempic has been banned as a treatment for obesity in the UK due to high demand for the drug causing a global shortage.
Stephen Fry was prescribed the drug in the US “years ago” and said earlier this year that side effects included vomiting up to five times a day.
Oprah Winfrey has also said she has taken weight loss drugs, though has declined to specify which one.