--- title: "Oprah Questions Need For WeightWatchers Now That We Have Wegovy" description: "After spending nearly a decade hyping WeightWatchers, Oprah Winfrey has changed her tune and is now taking the CEO of her ex-sponsor to task." date: "2024-03-20" modified: "2024-03-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/oprah-questions-weightwatchers-wegovy" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "oprah" - "semaglutide" - "wegovy" - "Weight Loss" --- # Oprah Questions Need For WeightWatchers Now That We Have Wegovy ![After spending nearly a decade hyping WeightWatchers, Oprah Winfrey has changed her tune and is now taking the CEO of her ex-sponsor to task.]() *\Image: Matt Winkelmeyer for GLAAD via Getty / Futurism\* After spending nearly a decade hyping Weight Watchers, television superstar Oprah Winfrey has changed her tune and is now taking the CEO of her ex-sponsor to task. During a [wide-ranging *ABC* special]() about her relationship with her weight, the 70-year-old Winfrey at one point confronted Sima Sistanti, the CEO of the company now known as WW International, about the program she spent nine years pushing. "Why do we need WeightWatchers," the 70-year-old talk show idol asked her former collaborator, [per *Bloomberg*](), "if we have Zepbound and Wegovy?" Winfrey was referring, of course, to two of the most popular new weight loss drugs on the market, both belonging to the GLP-1 class of drugs that can [reduce appetite]() and mimic the stomach's [feeling of fullness](). Sistani, who [took over as WW's CEO]() in March 2022, seemed to address Winfrey's pointed question with an answer both vague and existential. "WeightWatchers is not just about weight loss," the CEO replied. "It’s about community, it’s about education, it’s about care. That’s our new philosophy." As *Bloomberg* points out, that question posed by the one-time WeightWatchers spokeswoman appears to be on the minds of investors, too, as the company's [stock price plummeted]() in the aftermath of Winfrey's departure from the board — though to be fair, it had [for years]() been [struggling to find a foothold]() in a world where [body positivity]() and the "[health at every size]()" medical philosophies have gradually become mainstream. Though it's unclear which she's taken, the TV mogul revealed ahead of her [departure from the WW board]() that she's [used the new generation of medications]() to help her lose weight. Her discussion of Zepbound and Wegovy, and invitations to executives from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the respective makers of the drugs, suggests it may be one of the two. In its reporting, *Bloomberg* also indicates that Novo and Lilly both participated in the making of the special focusing on their wares, but as the companies [told *Fierce Pharma*](), they didn't provide any financial backing for it. All the same, Winfrey has a long history of promoting [medical quackery]() and [fad diets](). Whether she's onto something this time will come down to still-emerging medical data about GLP-1 patients, but for now it's hard to read her full-throated endorsement of these drugs, and apparent glossing-over of their downsides — which include [health problems](), [pharmacy shortages](), and [insurer reticence]() — as anything but an hour-long infomercial for the latest [get-thin-quick scheme](). **More on weight loss drugs:** [*New Weight Loss Pill More Effective Than Ozempic, Tests Find*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()