Hoda Kotb And Jenna Bush Hager Praise Oprah For Admitting She’s Taking A Weight-Loss Medication: “When Everybody Else Seems To Be Hiding It, She’s Telling The Truth”

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager sang Oprah Winfrey’s praises during a recent episode of Today after the former television host boldly confessed to using a prescribed weight loss medication to control her weight.

The Today hosts discussed Winfrey’s recent interview with People, in which she candidly addressed her decades-long struggle with her body image and said it became a “public sport” to “shame” her for her weight.

After pointing out that Winfrey previously tried Weight Watchers and other methods before turning to the undisclosed weight-loss medicine, Kotb said, “Heres the truth of it: It works for Oprah and she’s saying it out loud, which is awesome.”

She continued, “I don’t know how many people any of us know who is taking this but doing it in secret and say, ‘I’m just drinking water, I’m just walking,’ and whatever. And so what? Just say whatever it is.”

Bush Hager also praised Winfrey for her honesty: “Oprah, for her entire career, made a career on telling the truth,” she said. “But also, I can’t even understand how it much it must feel to be her and to have a lifetime of people talking about what she looks like.”

"The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift." Oprah Winfrey opens up about her weight loss. pic.twitter.com/bfTYsXe4hU

— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) December 14, 2023

She later clarified, “We don’t know everything about these drugs, and we are not doctors. But, I do hope that for people who need them, they will become more affordable because you can see how they can transform a life.”

In her interview with People, Winfrey expressed that she struggled for “decades” with “yo-yoing and feeling like why can’t I just conquer this thing, believing willpower was my failing.”

She recalled feeling like she “had to prove” that she had “the willpower to do it” before turning to this medical alternative. She said she finally consulted her doctor after she “released” her shame.

“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for,” Winfrey told the outlet. “I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”

Though Winfrey did not disclose which weight-loss medication she’s been taking, it’s no secret that medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, both of which are intended to treat diabetes, have become popular for their weight loss capabilities as well, leading to shortages that are expected to extend into 2024.

But the so-called “miracle drug” has its downsides. Sharon Osbourne recently revealed that she now weighs below 100 pounds after taking Ozempic, telling The Daily Mail, “Be careful what you wish for.”

“It’s easy to become addicted to that, which is very dangerous. I couldn’t stop losing weight and now I’ve lost 42 lbs. and I can’t afford to lose any more,” she told the outlet.