Oprah Winfrey Apologises for Being a 'Major Contributor' to ‘Diet Culture' Over Last 25 Years

For more than 20 years, Oprah Winfrey promoted unsustainable weight reduction techniques, and she wasn't reluctant to own up to her mistakes. The talk show presenter apologized for playing a significant role in diet culture on Thursday, May 9, when presenting the WeightWatchers live special Making the Shift. As reported by Page Six, she accepted, "I have been a steadfast participant in this diet culture. Through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years, and online. I’ve been a major contributor to it."

Recalling the well-known 'wagon of fat' incident from her talk show, Winfrey claimed it was 'one of my biggest regrets.' The amount of fat on the wagon was a representation of the weight she had shed during a rigorous, liquid-only fast that lasted for months. She said, "It sent a message that starving yourself with a liquid diet set a standard for people watching that I nor anybody else could uphold. And I've said this before, the very next day, I began to gain the weight back." Winfrey has been both a victim and an advocate of diet culture, going on strict diets and receiving a lot of backlash from the media for her size. 

During the program, Winfrey was joined by multiple physicians, WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani, and actresses Rebel Wilson, Amber Riley, and Busy Philipps. The group spoke about how the brand changed from encouraging diets to focusing on weight health and offering medications like Wegovy and Ozempic as medical interventions. They clarified the significance of body acceptance and that seeking medical assistance for weight reduction is not a sign of weakness.

Nearly five months have passed since Winfrey revealed that she took medicine to support her weight reduction, something that has been a work in progress over the previous two years. The talk show host discussed weight loss in the ABC special An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution in March, following her decision not to run for reelection as a member of the WeightWatchers board of directors. The program highlighted Winfrey's ups and downs in weight over the previous few decades, which had been publicly documented.

As reported by Good Morning America, she confessed on the special, "I have to say that I took on the shame that the world gave to me. For 25 years, making fun of my weight was national sport." When Winfrey was at the top of her career, she spoke about how she 'starved' herself for six months by going on a liquid-only diet. She confessed that she had begun to put on the weight by the next day. She further told the audience, "I come to this conversation with the hope that we can start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment, to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they choose to lose -- or not lose -- weight, and most importantly, to stop shaming ourselves."