Celebrity fans of Ozempic despite grim side effects and those who hate it

Stephen Fry is the latest celebrity to share his harrowing experience with Ozempic, admitting the ‘fat jab’ caused him to vomit up to five times a day.

The QI presenter admitted that he was an “early adopter” of the jab, which was introduced in 2018 in America and Canada for treating diabetes and obesity. Originally developed for diabetes treatment, the active ingredient in Ozempic, semaglutide, is now also used in the fight against obesity.

At first, Fry, 66, was thrilled that Ozempic curbed all his food and alcohol cravings, but he had to stop the injections after becoming violently ill. “I was literally throwing up four, five times a day and I thought, ‘I can’t do this.’ So that’s it,” the TV star recently admitted. “The new variant Tirzepatide Mounjaro it’s called makes it even worse apparently.”

Ozempic can cause side effects like feeling sick, stomach pains, and being sick, and some people have even got thyroid tumours from a bad reaction to the medicine. The NHS stresses that you should only take Ozempic if a special weight management service gives it to you after approval from a doctor.

As Fry joins other stars being honest and open about their use of Ozempic to lose weight, we take a look at other famous faces that have tried the controversial medication as part of their diet plan – and those who have slammed Ozempic being normalised as a ‘quick fix’ for weight loss.

Sophie Turner

Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner certainly won’t be dabbling with Ozempic, with the mum-of-two, 28, criticising sharing her thoughts on the weight-loss prescription drugs last year. After some adverts for Ozempic were spotted throughout New York City subway stations in April, Sophie took to social media to make her stance clear.

Writer Sophie Vershbow was the one to take snaps of the subway adverts for Ro, a telehealth company offering a new weight loss program with the injectable semaglutide medication, Wegovy. She captioned her image: “The Ozempic ads plastered across the Times Square subway station can f*** all the way off.”

Sophie’s image and tweet was then shared to Instagram by plus-size model and activist Charli Howard, with actress Sophie quickly resharing Charli’s post to her own Instagram page. Making her feelings on the adverts known to her millions of followers, Sophie simply added: “WTF.”

Sharon Osbourne

Speaking last year, Sharon Osbourne admitted her husband Ozzy Osbourne fears “something will happen” to her following her drastic weight loss and use of Ozempic. While chatting with Good Morning Britain hosts Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway in November, Sharon advised viewers about the hazards of using Ozempic for losing weight.

“My fear is that it [ozempic] is put in the right hands,” the Celebrity Big Brother star warned. “I fear for teenagers… I’m scared for those aged 16 to 20 as it’s so easy to take it and think ‘I can eat what I want’. It needs to be in the hands of only people who totally understand it. I don’t want young girls… the world we live in today means everyone wants to be skinny.”

Sharon also said: “I could do with putting on a few pounds but my body isn’t listening.” Then Ben asked Sharon what her rock star husband thinks about her using Ozempic, and Sharon was very honest with the now This Morning presenter. “He’s scared, he doesn’t like it,” Sharon admitted. “He’s scared something is going to happen to me. ‘This is it, you’ve got skinny – something it going to happen’… he’s always thinking about the downside and think it’s too good to be true.”

Sharon has also previously chatted with Piers Morgan about the drug and shared that she had lost 42 pounds thanks to taking it. She said: “I lost 42 pounds now and it’s just enough. I didn’t actually want to go this thin, but it just happened, and I’ll probably put it all on again soon.”

Talking about about how Ozempic made her feel sick: “At first, I mean, you feel nauseous. You don’t throw up physically, but you’ve got that feeling. It was about two, three weeks where I felt nauseous the whole time.You get very thirsty and you don’t want to eat. That’s it. That’s why I keep saying you’ve got to keep this stuff away from younger people because they will go berserk on it, and it’s not right.”

Jameela Jamil

Jameela Jamil is of the belief Ozempic and other weight-loss injections are just fads that will disappear in the future. The British presenter-turned-actress, who has previously battled an eating disorder, shared how she found it “heartbreaking” to see diet culture take a toxic turn once again during an interview earlier this year.

She told Grazia magazine: “It’s been quite heartbreaking, watching such an extraordinary rise of unhealthy attitudes towards bodies again after it felt like so much progress had been made. It really made me feel depressed, especially at the start of the year. It has struck me that a lot of the narrative around these weight-loss injections has been that you get the results without the sweat, that we still look at exercise as this punishment.

“The idea of ‘no pain, no gain’ is such a horrible, outdated, stupid slogan that doesn’t mean anything. I don’t feel any pain. When I’m exercising, I do things that are gentle and good for me and sustainable. I’ll go for a 15-minute walk or dance in my kitchen.” Speaking specifically about Ozempic, Jameela said: “It’s not sustainable. I think as quickly as it came in, it’s gonna go out again.”

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey recently opened up about her use of Ozempic, admitting using the drug for weight-loss gave her “hope” after many years of feeling ashamed about her body. In December, the 71 year old star revealed that she had lost weight with the help of a medication. She called it her “redemption” from years of struggling with body confidence.

In her latest TV special, An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution, which aired on Monday night, she spoke openly about obesity and discussed how weight loss drugs have given her hope. “I have to say that the shame that the world gave to me, for 25 years, making fun of my weight like a national sport,” she confessed during the TV special.

She also explained why she left WeightWatchers after nearly 10 years on the board. She said she was forced to step down in February after her weight-loss drug admission. Speaking in Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution, Oprah boldly said she wanted to have the freedom to discuss what she wants without her ties to WeightWatchers influencing her.

“I decided because this special was really important to me, and I wanted to be able to talk about whatever I want to talk about,” she admitted. Oprah continued to explain that since WeightWatchers had evolved into a weight-health firm that also offers drug medications for weight management. Thus, she didn’t want there to appear as if she had any conflicts of interest.

Tracy Morgan

30 Rock star Tracy Morgan hasn’t enjoyed the same success other celebrities have enjoyed when taking Ozempic, with the comedian admitting he’s gained 40 pounds since he began taking the type 2 diabetes medication in August 2023. Speaking on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Morgan was quizzed on how he’s been keeping in shape.

“Well, that’s Ozempic,” the actor told host Jimmy Fallon. “Yeah, but I’ve learned to out-eat Ozempic. I gained 40 pounds.” Morgan first admitted he was taking Ozempic last year, telling Today with Hoda and Jenna viewers: “I went and got a prescription and I got Ozempic, and I ain’t letting it go. I take Ozempic every Thursday. It cuts my appetite in half. Now I only eat half a bag of Doritos.”

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