Oprah Winfrey openly acknowledged her significant role in promoting diet culture during a livestream event with WeightWatchers on Thursday, stating, “I have been a steadfast participant in this diet culture through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years.” She confessed her participation during the event titled “Making the Shift: A New Way to Think About Weight.”
The 70-year-old media mogul admitted, “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.”
In the three-hour livestream, Winfrey addressed the scrutiny and shame tied to societal beauty standards. “I know we’ve been criticized, we’ve been scrutinized, we’ve been shamed, and we’ve been told that unless we met a certain standard of size, that we didn’t deserve to be accepted or even to be loved,” she said. “What I know for sure is that I am done with it.”
Winfrey referenced the infamous “wagon of fat” moment from a 1988 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show as one of her “biggest regrets.” She explained, “I know now that that wagon-of-fat moment was set into motion after years and years of thinking that my struggle with my weight was my fault.”
She shared personal anecdotes, including her first national TV appearance on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson in 1985, where she was interviewed by Joan Rivers. Rivers asked her, “So how’d you gain the weight?” to which a young Winfrey, caught off guard, replied, “I ate a lot.”
Reflecting on this moment, Winfrey recalled, “I thought she would end it, and she did not,” adding that Rivers told her, “you must lose the weight.” This moment marked the start of a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting for Winfrey.
Winfrey’s relationship with her body was a recurring theme on her talk show, where she discussed various diets and self-acceptance. “It’s hard to love yourself when the rest of the world is constantly telling you that what you look like isn’t enough,” she told the audience.
Winfrey revealed she had been using weight loss medication since fall 2023 but hesitated to share this publicly due to fear of scrutiny. “Acceptance and joy” are two different things regarding body image, she noted.
The event also featured Rebel Wilson and Busy Philipps, who shared their experiences with weight stigma. Philipps stated, “I’m just gonna be so real with you; my opportunities are better if I’m a certain size,” highlighting the industry’s harsh realities.
Wilson shared her fear of losing her career if she lost weight, saying, “It was put to me at the time by the team around me that if you do lose weight, you will lose your career. Turns out, that’s not the truth.”
The emotional livestream underscored the complex relationship between body image, self-worth, and public perception.