Oprah Winfrey Addresses Fat-Shaming: ''Mocking My Weight Was A National Sport''

Oprah Winfrey recently opened up about her weight loss journey and recounted how she was'' shamed'' and ''ridiculed'' for decades over her fluctuating weight. The media personality hosted the pre-recorded An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution' on Monday where she spoke about obesity and the growing trend of weight-loss medication, BBC reported. 

''I have to say that I took on the shame that the world gave to me. For 25 years, making fun of my weight was a national sport,'' she said. She recalled being called "bumpy, lumpy, and downright dumpy" on the cover of TV Guide in 1990.

Ms Winfrey also read out other mean and hurtful headlines over the years that obsessed over her appearance, and made conjectures about her health, including ''Oprah: Fatter than Ever'' and ''Oprah Warned 'Diet or Die'.''

''In an effort to combat all the shame, I starved myself for nearly five months and then wheeled out that wagon of fat that the internet will never let me forget'', she said.

Ms Winfrey, who has admitted to losing weight through medication, also praised weight-loss drugs, and said, ''In my lifetime, I never dreamed that we would be talking about medicine that is providing hope for people like me who have struggled for years with being overweight or obesity.''

"I come to this conversation with the hope that we can start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment, to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they choose to lose–or not lose–weight, and, most importantly, to stop shaming ourselves,'' she added. 

However, she said she doesn't just rely on meds to maintain her weight, adding that she also hikes and runs, does weight training, and maintains a healthy diet.

During the episode, also interacted with guests who shared their weight-loss journey and why they turned to prescription medications like Ozempic, Mysimba, Victoza, and Wegovy. 

''All these years, I thought all of the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower, and they were for some reason stronger than me. And now I realize: y'all weren't even thinking about the food! It's not that you had the willpower; you weren't obsessing about it,'' she said.

Ms Winfrey ended the one-hour episode by acknowledging the people who may be ''happy and healthy'' in a bigger body, the people who feel diet and exercise are ''the best and only way'' and those interested in how medications may help in weight loss.