Oprah Winfrey apologises for being major contributor to diet culture

Oprah Winfrey, the veteran talk show host, recently issued an apology for her significant role in promoting diet culture, a revelation she shared during a three-hour live WeightWatchers special, reports Page Six.

Winfrey acknowledged her extensive involvement in perpetuating unsustainable weight loss methods through her various platforms. “I have been a steadfast participant in this diet culture,” Winfrey admitted. “Through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years and online. I’ve been a major contributor to it. I cannot tell you how many weight-loss shows and makeovers I have done, and they have been a staple since I’ve been working in television,” she elaborated.

One of the moments she regrets most is when she displayed 67 pounds of fat on her show, symbolizing her weight loss from a month-long, liquid-only fast. “I’ve shared how that famous wagon of fat moment on the ‘Oprah’ show is one of my biggest regrets,” she explained. “It sent a message that starving yourself with a liquid diet — it set a standard for people watching that I nor anybody else could uphold.”

The broadcast also featured discussions with celebrities like Rebel Wilson, Amber Riley, and Busy Philipps, along with WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani and several doctors. The conversation highlighted the company’s transition from a diet-centric brand to a weight-health organization that now embraces medical interventions for weight management.

Winfrey also touched on the societal shift towards body acceptance and the legitimacy of seeking medical help for weight loss. “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,” she remarked in a December 2023 interview with People.

Having stepped down from the WeightWatchers board after nearly ten years to avoid any conflict of interest, Winfrey also shared her future plans. “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,” she told Jimmy Kimmel. She concluded her involvement by donating all her shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, ensuring her advocacy work remains untainted by financial motives.