Oprah Winfrey reveals how she 'combats all the shame' about weight, says she was ridiculed on every show

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Oprah Winfrey candidly spoke about the toll of dieting and negative public scrutiny revolving around her weight loss journey.

During the hour-long ABC special, 'An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution', the 70-year-old got emotional as she reflected on her struggles with weight loss over the years which has led to feelings of shame and frustration.

Oprah Winfrey recalls losing 67 pounds after she 'starved' herself for five months

Recalling being on a liquid diet in 1988, Winfrey said, "In an effort to combat all the shame, I starved myself for nearly five months and then wheeled out that wagon of fat that the internet will never forget."

"After losing 67 pounds on [a] liquid diet, the next day, the very next day, I started to gain it back. Feeling the shame of fighting a losing battle with weight, is a story all too familiar," she said.

Recounting how she was "ridiculed on every late-night talk show for 25 years," the talk show host claimed some of the media headlines at the time were like, "Oprah: Fatter Than Ever" and "Oprah Warned Diet or Die."

Speaking about the change in mindset over the years, Winfrey said, "All these years, I thought all of the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower and they were for some reason stronger than me."

"And now I realize y'all weren't even thinking about the food. It's not that you had the willpower. You weren't thinking about it. You weren't obsessing about it. That is the big thing I learned," she added.

Oprah Winfrey says she uses weight-loss medications as 'I feel I need it'

Winfrey previously shared that she was using prescription weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro.

"I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing," she told People in December 2023.

"The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for," she added.

"I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself," she continued.

In the special, the philanthropist said it took her time to have a change in perspective, reframing her mindset on obesity as a disease rather than a character flaw.

"There is now a sense of hope, No 1, and No 2, you no longer blame yourself," she said of the shift in her perspective.

"When I tell you how many times I have blamed myself because you think, 'I'm smart enough to figure this out,' and then to hear all along, it's you fighting your brain," Winfrey added.