The controversial ‘Skinny Pen’ helping celebrities shed weight
Called Hollywood’s worst-kept secret, injectable prescription medicine Ozempic has been making waves in Tinseltown for reportedly helping celebrities drop weight fast.
But many celebrities have distanced themselves from the medication that was created for those with type 2 diabetes, especially after a shortage of the drug worldwide started in 2022.
Ozempic contains semaglutide, which decreases blood sugar levels and curbs appetite, leading to weight loss. It was approved by the Health Sciences Authority for use in Singapore in 2021 to treat type 2 diabetes.
Another semaglutide medication, Wegovy, which is made by the same company that produces Ozempic and comes in a higher dosage, was approved in February by the HSA for weight management.
Despite the controversy, some celebrities have been candid about their use of either Ozempic or Wegovy.
Comedian Chelsea Handler revealed she took Ozempic, but claims she did not know what it was called or that it was meant for people with type 2 diabetes. On a podcast, she said her “anti-ageing doctor just hands it out to anybody”.
She added that it feels “irresponsible” to continue using the drug and has since stopped.
Twitter owner Elon Musk gave Wegovy a shout-out after a Twitter user asked him how he got “awesome, fit, ripped (and) healthy”. The billionaire said he also fasted.
TikTok star Remi Bader was prescribed Ozempic because she had prediabetes and insulin resistance.
When she stopped taking it, she said her binge-eating got so much worse and she “gained double the weight back”.
Another celebrity hopping on the Ozempic train is former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, who was worried about getting diabetes. His previous attempts to lose weight in other ways had failed.
In his Sunday Times column in January, he called Ozempic’s effects “genuinely incredible”.
He wrote: “I can open the fridge, where there’s half a chicken and a juicy bottle of rose, and I want neither. Of course, I’ll have to insert some balance in the future, or I’ll, you know, die.
“But for now it’s tremendous.”
However, other celebrities have taken a strong stance against using such weight-loss drugs.
Actress and model Julia Fox has dismissed speculation that she took Ozempic to maintain her slim frame. She told Entertainment Tonight in March: “I would never do that. There are diabetics who need it.”
Meanwhile, British actress and activist Jameela Jamil, who often speaks out about controversial weight loss fads, took to Instagram after the Oscars in March to decry the use of weight loss injections.
While she did not name Ozempic or Wegovy, she wrote that weight loss becomes an “Olympic sport during awards season”.
She urged her 3.7 million followers not to be triggered or make sudden decisions. “It’s a temporary extreme. None of this lasts. Very rarely is it unrestrictive and healthy.”
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