'The View's Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin Open Up About Using Weight Loss Drug

Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin

Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin revealed during a discussion about Oprah Winfrey’s new special that they have each used Mounjaro for weight loss.

The View co-hosts discussed battling the “shame” surrounding weight gain during a Tuesday, March 19 episode of their daytime talk show. Their conversation was linked to Winfrey’s new special, An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, which aired on March 18.

The View aired a short clip from the special in which Winfrey, 70, told viewers that making jokes about her weight had become a “national sport” throughout her decades in the public eye. She discussed the “many times” she “blamed herself” for struggling to reach or maintain a goal weight.

Goldberg, 68, opened The View’s conversation about shame and weight by asking her fellow hosts if they believe people are starting to think of their weight “more seriously as a health issue.” She volunteered her own anecdote about discovering how her own weight increased as she was working on the 2022 film Till.

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“I weighed almost 300 pounds when I made Till,” Goldberg recalled. "I had taken all those steroids, I was on all this stuff.” Goldberg said that Mounjaro, a medication used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and for weight loss, helped her lose weight.

Hostin, 55, then revealed that she had, at one point during the coronavirus pandemic, gained 40 pounds. “I was horrified by the fact that I would have to come out on air. I was. And so I also took Mounjaro.”

Hostin described receiving cruel messages about her decision to use the medication, agreeing with the point Winfrey made in her special that “there is shame when you’ve gained weight.”

“I found out that my cholesterol went up to 200 when I gained the extra weight,” Hostin added. "I used Mounjaro, and my cholesterol is 140 now. I feel better, I think I look better, and that’s what this is about for people.”

Winfrey’s special came amid an ongoing debate about the use of Ozempic and other medications for weight loss. Winfrey, who told People last year that she uses a medication to maintain her weight along with other health-conscious strategies, is one of many celebrities who has confirmed that they use medication for weight loss purposes.

Though some celebrities have faced criticism over their use of weight loss medication, as Hostin did, others, including Today co-host Al Roker, have urged critics to “stay within your lane” and stop shaming people who elect to try new tools to help them lose weight.

Next: Kate Winslet Sends Pointed Message to Celebrities Using Ozempic for Weight Loss