Oprah Winfrey has been very candid about her ongoing relationship with her weight, openly talking about weight loss with stars like Rebel Wilson and sharing her own struggles with diet and exercise over the years. For nearly a decade, the media icon has been the very public face of WeightWatchers, cheering on subscribers of the diet program as they track points and prioritize their health. However, it looks like that wellness-focused partnership is coming to an end.
Winfrey announced on February 28 that she has decided not to stand for board re-election at the company's annual shareholders' meeting this May. Per a press release, Oprah said:
I look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity...Weight Health is a critically important topic and one that needs to be addressed at a broader scale. I plan to participate in a number of public forums and events where I will be a vocal advocate in advancing this conversation.
Along with leaving WeightWatchers' Board of Directors—of which she has been the largest shareholder since joining in 2015, with a 10% stake—Winfrey also revealed that she will donate her interest in the company, along with any future WW stock proceeds, to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).
The charitable donation isn't a surprise—Oprah is known to throw her many dollars at a "worthy organization," like when she forked over a million bucks to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program during the lengthy actors' strike that ended in November.
She said of choosing the NMAAHC as the org to benefit from her board departure:
I have been a long-time supporter of this worthy organization, and I am proud to continue my support.
The news comes in the wake of a lot of Ozempic chatter surrounding the iconic talk-show host. Like fellow recently slimmed-down stars including Kelly Clarkson and The Real Housewives' Kyle Richards, who showed off her dramatic weight loss early last year, it had been rumored that Winfrey was using the once-weekly injection for weight loss. She admitted as such in a December 2023 cover story with People, saying that she uses Ozempic as a "maintenance tool" in her weight-loss regimen.
That decision to go public with the Ozempic news is seemingly tied to the recent WeightWatchers decision, as the company's Board of Directors wrote in the press release that her stepping down was, in part, "to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications."
Oprah knows when it's time to step away from a project—she knew exactly when it was right to end her famed talk show, after all—so leaving WeightWatchers will simply offer up some space in the mogul's undoubtedly busy schedule. Plus, it's also nice that she's using this as an opportunity to donate to a good cause.
