Oprah Winfrey says she “starved herself” for months before wheeling out a “wagon of animal fat” to represent all the weight she’d lost on an episode of her talk show back in 1988, all in a bid to combat the “shame” she felt around her weight.
The 70-year-old star – who has been ranked among the most influential women in the world – described the criticism she had received over her weight during her career, saying that for more than two decades “making fun of my weight was a national sport”.
She spoke emotionally about the myths surrounding obesity and the growing trend of weight management medication in a TV special titled An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame And The Weight Loss Revolution on the American network ABC.
She also said she had quit the board of WeightWatchers ahead of the show because she did not want a “perceived conflict of interest,” and had donated “all of my shares at WeightWatchers to the Smithsonian Museum Of African American History And Culture”.
‘Medicine providing hope for people like me’
Opening the TV special, Winfrey said: “In my lifetime, I never dreamed that we would be talking about medicine that is providing hope for people like me who have struggled for years with being overweight or obesity.
“So, I come to this conversation in the hope that we can start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they choose to lose or not lose weight.
“And more importantly, to stop shaming ourselves.
“I have to say that I took on the shame that the world gave to me, for 25 years making fun of my weight was a national sport.”
She said she would “never forget” when she saw herself on the cover of TV Guides best and worst dressed in 1990, where she was described as “bumpy, lumpy, and downright dumpy”.
She went on: “I was ridiculed on every late-night talk show for 25 years, and tabloid covers for 25 years.”
‘Oprah: Fatter Than Ever’
She then read out a number of hurtful headlines about her, including “Oprah: Fatter Than Ever”, and “Oprah Warned ‘Diet Or Die’ “.
She 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 let me forget.”