The famous host discusses the challenges she faced with her weight, including rapid weight gain after losing 67 pounds on an all-liquid diet, and hurtful experiences with media scrutiny.
- Jun 27, 2024
AceShowbiz - In a recent episode of the "Jamie Kern Lima" podcast, Oprah Winfrey shared that she started gaining weight again shortly after a famous episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 1988 where she showcased a wagon full of fat representing the weight she had lost. She said she lost weight on the Optifast diet, which she followed for five months without eating solid food.
Three days after the show, Winfrey said she had gained 5 pounds, and a week later, she had gained 10 pounds. By the week before Christmas, she felt too ashamed of her weight gain to attend a party hosted by Don Johnson. She had gained 12 pounds since the show.
Winfrey also recalled the media's relentless mocking of her weight for 25 years. She highlighted a particularly painful skit on the comedy show "In Living Color" where Kim Wayans impersonated her and made light of her weight gain.
"The whole audience fell out [laughing] and the woman was me," Winfrey said. "That was just accepted, that was just a thing that was accepted."
Despite the criticism and judgment, Winfrey emphasized that she is now done with the shame associated with her weight. She has been body-shamed more than anyone else she knows and has carried the burden of others' expectations.
Winfrey has recently lost weight with the help of a weight-loss medication and has apologized for promoting unhealthy weight loss methods in the past. She believes medical interventions for weight management can provide relief and redemption.
