Oprah Winfrey has always been that larger-than-life figure we’ve all grown up watching—her talk show was like a window into real people’s lives, full of heart and honesty. But behind the glamour, she’s dealt with the harsh side of fame, especially when it came to body shaming and those endless comments about her weight. It’s something so many of us can relate to, feeling judged for how we look.
Not too long ago, Oprah opened up about finally turning to weight loss meds after years of ups and downs with her body. She’s been super honest about it, but she’s also reflected on how she herself contributed to that whole obsession with thinness. And now, she’s sharing what she calls one of her biggest regrets in her career, tied right back to this weight stuff.
Back in 1986, when “The Oprah Winfrey Show” hit the airwaves, this woman from Kosciusko, Mississippi, became a global icon. Her show ran for 25 incredible years, wrapping up in 2011, and she tackled just about every topic under the sun with thousands of guests. Looking back, though, there’s one moment that sticks out to her as a real misstep—and yeah, it involves weight loss.
These days, Oprah’s still going strong. She’s got her podcast, her beloved book club (which she kicked off way back in 1996), and on a personal level, she’s been on this transformative journey with her health and weight.
At 71, Oprah’s never shied away from talking about her struggles with weight—it’s been part of her story for decades. A couple of years ago, she shared that she started using GLP-1 meds (you know, the ones originally for type 2 diabetes that also help with shedding pounds). She lost about 50 pounds, and it was a game-changer for her mindset.
On her podcast earlier this year, she got real about how it shifted her perspective on folks who stay slim. “One of the things that I realized the very first time I took a GLP-1 was that all these years I thought that thin people, those people just had more willpower,” she said. “They ate better foods, they were able to stick to it longer, they never had a potato chip.”
Then she added, “And then I realized the very first time I took the GLP-1 that, ‘Oh, they’re not even thinking about it. They’re only eating when they’re hungry and they’re stopping when they’re full.’” That’s when she decided to go public about it, even though she felt like she was breaking some unspoken rule. “When I announced last January I was like an anomaly, an anomaly in that I was willing to say it,” she wrapped up.
Oprah’s been through the wringer with all the focus on her body— she told People magazine that “making fun of my weight was a national sport” for over two decades. Ouch, right? She remembers headlines calling her “Dumpy, Frumpy and Downright Lumpy,” and it hit hard. “I didn’t feel angry,” she shared. “I felt sad, I felt hurt, I swallowed the shame, I accepted that it was my fault.”
But here’s where it gets even more introspective: Oprah admits she played a role in fueling that toxic diet culture. “I want to acknowledge that I have been a steadfast participant in this diet culture through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years,” she said.
Last year, during a WeightWatchers live special, she owned up to it fully. “I’ve been a steadfast participant in this diet culture,” she explained. “Through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years, through online—I’ve been a major contributor to it. I cannot tell you how many weight loss shows and makeovers I have done and they have been a staple since I’ve been working in television.” And she’s done with it now—no more shaming, from herself or anyone else.
That self-reflection ties straight into her biggest career regret. It goes back to a 1988 episode of her show, where she wheeled out a wagon full of fat onstage. It symbolized the weight she’d lost through a strict liquid diet and intense exercise. At the time, it seemed dramatic and triumphant, but now she sees it differently.
She’d basically starved herself for months to pull it off, and she regrets how it set an impossible standard. “It sent a message that starving yourself with a liquid diet set a standard for people watching that I, nor anybody else, could uphold,” she reflected. “The very next day, I began to gain the weight back.”
Oprah’s owning it all now, saying, “I own what I’ve done, and now I want to do better.” It’s inspiring to see someone so iconic get this vulnerable—reminds us that we’re all human, figuring it out as we go. What about you? Have you had moments like that in your own life?