Ozempic has become a hot topic when it comes to weight loss — with some stars confirming they have used the drug while others denied it.
The Type 2 diabetes medication, which is traditionally used to improve glycemic control, has made headlines due to various Hollywood stars allegedly using it to quickly shed pounds. Stars like Chelsea Handler, Kyle Richards and more have spoken about the diet trend.
Handler, for her part, admitted during a January 2023 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she unknowingly took the medication. She explained her anti-aging doctor prescribed her something called Semaglutide, which is another name for Ozempic.
The Chelsea Lately alum claimed that her doctor told her the medicine was good to use if she wanted “to drop five pounds.” The comedian didn’t realize what the medication was until a friend informed her.
“I came back from a vacation and I injected myself with it,” the former Chelsea host recalled. “I went to lunch with a girlfriend a few days later, and she was like, ‘I’m not really eating anything. I’m so nauseous, I’m on Ozempic.’ I was like, ‘I’m kind of nauseous too.’ But I had just come back from Spain and I thought I was jet-lagged. I had been there for like a month. White privilege.”
After Handler learned about what the prescription really was, she stopped using it but admitted that she still has some in her house.
“I’m not on it anymore. That’s too irresponsible,” the Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea author clarified. “I’m an irresponsible drug user, but I’m not gonna take a diabetic drug. I tried it, and I’m not gonna do that. That’s not for me. That’s not right for me.”
Richards, meanwhile, was accused of using the diabetes medicine in January 2023 after posting a picture of herself showing off her abs in a bathing suit. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star took to social media to address the speculation.
“I am NOT taking Ozempic. Never have,” Richards commented on Page Six’s Instagram at the time. The reality star responded to another Instagram user adding, “I have never tried Ozempic and this is not from plastic surgery. I did have a breast reduction in May. I’m honest about what I do. But if giving plastic surgery the credit makes you feel better then pop off sister 😘.”
After slamming the rumors, fellow Bravo personality Melissa Gorga admitted that even she thought Richards was using Ozempic at first.
“I’m not gonna lie, when I first saw her, I was like, ‘Oh she’s taking that stuff,’” the Real Housewives of New Jersey star said during a January 2023 appearance on the “Jeff Lewis Live” SiriusXM radio show. “And then, when she [denied it], I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, maybe not.’ You know, I don’t know. I didn’t even text her and ask her.”
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