Oprah Winfrey revealed she left the board of WeightWatchers after nearly a decade because of her upcoming special about prescription weight loss medications.
“I decided that because this special was really important to me and I wanted to be able to talk about whatever I wanted to talk about, and WeightWatchers is now in the business of being a weight health company that also administers drug medications for weight,” the famed talk show host said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Thursday.
“I did not want to have the appearance of any conflict of interest.”
Winfrey, 70, admitted in December that she used prescription medication to shed unwanted pounds after fans speculated about her dramatic weight loss for months. She didn’t specify if she used Ozempic, Wegovy or some other appetite-altering drug.
“So I resigned from the board and donated all of my shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture,” Winfrey added.
“So nobody can say, ‘Oh, she’s doing that special, she’s making money, promoting.’ No, you cannot say that.”
Kimmel asked the longtime spokeswoman if WeightWatchers cried when she announced her resignation, to which the OWN founder quipped, “They almost did.”
Winfrey further admitted that while she was initially determined to lose weight without medical assistance, her doctor explained to her that she would most likely always “yo-yo” because “obesity is a disease.”
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“I’ve been in the storm of losing the weight, gaining it back. Losing the weight, gaining it back, and what I realized when I listened to what the doctor said, that you are always going to put it back on, and it’s like holding your breath underwater and trying not to rise,” she explained.
“You’re always going to rise.”
The “Color Purple” star previously said that she was “done” with being “blamed and shamed” for her fluctuating figure.
Winfrey’s “An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution” will air Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
