Kelly Clarkson has lost a dramatic amount of weight over the past year. People really began to notice her weight loss last fall, when her talk show returned. Kelly addressed her weight loss in a January interview, basically saying that she’s been listening to her doctors, walking more and sticking to a diet. She was purposefully cagey about whether she’s currently on a weight loss drug, which was fine with me – as I said in January, Kelly doesn’t owe us an explanation and her weight or weight loss has never been part of her celebrity brand, as opposed to someone like Oprah. That being said, the dramatic weight loss did give everyone an Ozempic vibe. Now she’s saying it’s not Ozempic, but she is on some kind of drug because she’s prediabetic.
Kelly Clarkson reveals she’s been taking weight loss medication to help with her health journey. During the Monday, May 13, episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, Clarkson, 42, interviewed Whoopi Goldberg and began their conversation by complimenting Goldberg on how great she looks. She told The View co-host, “Every time I run into you, you look younger! You’re like Benjamin Button. It’s like crazy every time you walk in!”
“First of all, it’s all the weight I’ve lost. I’ve lost almost two people,” replied the EGOT winner, 68. “I am doing that wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help, and it’s been really good for me.”
Clarkson quickly noted how she has also lost “a lot” of weight, adding, “Mine is a different one than people assume, but I ended up having to do that too because my bloodwork got so bad. My doctor chased me for two years, and I was like, ‘No, I’m afraid of it. I already have thyroid problems. Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic, but it’s not. It’s something else.”
Clarkson explained how the medication is “something that aids in helping break down the sugar,” noting how her body “doesn’t do it right.”
The American Idol winner clarified that she is not on Ozempic — which is one of the FDA-approved prescription medications for people with type 2 diabetes. The medications work in the brain to impact satiety.
The two women then revealed how much they weighed at their heaviest, and before they began their prescription medications. “I was 300 lbs.,” Goldberg said.
“My heaviest, I was like 203 [lbs.] And I’m like 5’3 and a half,” shared Clarkson.
Yeah, I think people sort of “accused” Kelly of taking Ozempic, like she was taking a shortcut to weight loss. But I believe that she had medical reasons for taking whatever drug she’s talking about – she has real health issues, she’s prediabetic, she has thyroid issues. She probably needed to lose weight for her health and I would guess that the weight loss is secondary to what is being treated, you know? Anyway, she looks great. I think she’s on a real “get my life back on track post-divorce” kick.
Photos of Kelly this month, courtesy of Backgrid.
-
- New Jersey, NJ – Kelly Clarkson captivates the audience with a stunning performance at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City. Pictured: Kelly Clarkson BACKGRID USA 11 MAY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New Jersey, NJ – Kelly Clarkson captivates the audience with a stunning performance at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City. Pictured: Kelly Clarkson BACKGRID USA 11 MAY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New Jersey, NJ – Kelly Clarkson captivates the audience with a stunning performance at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City. Pictured: Kelly Clarkson BACKGRID USA 11 MAY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New Jersey, NJ – Kelly Clarkson captivates the audience with a stunning performance at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City. Pictured: Kelly Clarkson BACKGRID USA 11 MAY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Not Ozempic? OK. It was Wegovy, or Mounjaro or…
Whichever brand it was, her face tells the tale.
That was exactly my thought, as far as names. My dad is on mounjaro, he’s been diabetic for 25+ years. He’s lost some weight but doesn’t exercise, so it hasn’t been a dramatic weight loss. It’s brought his blood sugar down to almost not diabetic levels. I’m excited he feels hopeful about his health for the first time maybe ever.
For Kelly, I appreciate that she’s talking about real health conditions that she’s following doctor advice to treat. I wish ppl would stop commenting on her weight or anyone’s weight.
Lucy- I am like your dad in that i am diabetic, and i am on mounjaro and the difference in my bloodwork is amazing- and also, i’m not losing very much weight, but i certainly have lost some. My exercise is- walking.
I’ve also had my blood pressure come way down, so less medication, on the way to no medication, and other medication dosages have been cut substantially. My dr is thrilled. It is great for people like me.
And i am a bit annoyed by my not particularly large friends’ doctors who are prescribing it specifically for minimal weight loss- meaning you never know if the pharmacy will have any in stock. Sometimes you can’t get it at all, and when you can you have to go to a random walgreens in a distant suburb to find it.
So glad all the celebs looked good at the oscars- but, i have health problems to address.
Same here ariel, I’ve taken ozempic and now switched to mounjaro, which I think has worked even better for my glucose, and all of my labwork is stellar right now, which is a huge relief, as I have metabolic syndrome and a lot of stuff was really heading in the wrong direction. I haven’t lost much weight either, despite eating better/less and exercising more, but at least I’m healthier.
Exactly, weight doesn’t indicate health – I wish she’d call that out. It’s about blood sugar.
LOL — this, exactly.
The face is the giveaway IMO.
However, I’ll qualify my statement by mentioning that I recall Kelly stating that she was pre-diabetic and that was the impetus for her weight loss so if she did use Ozempic, Wegovy, etc. it seems that she is precisely who the drug is aimed at — as opposed to people like Real Housewives, etc. who are using it as a miracle weight loss drug.
She says that she’s on weight loss medication. I don’t think she’s trying to pull one over on us. Why the accusatory tone?
Talking about the face is the fastest to show you don’t know about dramatic weight loss.
A semiglutide doesn’t cause it.
Any kind of large weight loss does.
Stop calling out the face of a person trying to get healthy,
It’s like saying “Yeah, you lost weight. But you still look like shit, cause look at your face.”
It could be metformin, a chef, and exercise. It doesn’t have to be an injectable.
Agree.
There was a great podcast about Ozempic that I just listened to that pointed out that there are so many health issues with being overweight people should not be shamed for taking whatever steps they need to lose weight. She has mentioned before that she has thyroid issues-and there are some preliminary studies that indicate a connection between Ozempic and thyroid cancer-so I’m sure she’s on something else. Whatever. Good for her.
The side eye questions I’m getting about my weight loss are very pointed. I still feel the undercurrent of – the drugs are for lazy people who just can’t control themselves. I was pre diabetic, HBP and high cholesterol – not to mention the ortho issues from carrying extra weight – I still tell no one for fear of their reactions given how they talk about the meds. But maybe I’ll have last laugh. Awesome A1C, no HBP and joints feel much better.
Since I eat very little I have learned to make each morsel count. Low fat protein is key. Lots of calcium through greens.
The whole “I’m just worried about your health” combined with “you’re taking the easy way out” mentalities are so exhausting. If the first is true, and it rarely is, then the second shouldn’t be an issue.
“It’s some other unnamed magical drug that also causes dramatic weight loss … you wouldn’t know it, it’s from Canada.”
My cynical theory is that they’re still working out the details of her spokesperson contract. Either way, I do love Kelly, and I hope she’s happy, and I believe that she doesn’t owe us an explanation (but I wish she would just say “no comment” instead of “it’s something else”).
Part of me wonders if she is withholding the name of the drug so as not to cause some sort of craze for it (like what happened with ozempic). She is doing this for health reasons and she is being forthcoming. She doesn’t owe anyone the drug name and I think, with her celebrity, that is actually quite responsible of her, imo.
@SAMESAME That’s a really solid theory that I hadn’t considered. I don’t know why I jumped straight to cynicism earlier; I think I’m just having a down day and took it out on Kelly (who I adore!). Thank you for helping me see a more generous, thoughtful perspective.
Kelly Clarkson strikes me as a genuinely sweet person, I like her too.
@DEESEA I hope your day is on the upswing now
Weight loss is one of the few health issues that people feel the freedom to comment on because it’s visible (and kind of classist). At the end of the day, it’s none of our business. Whatever health issues they are facing it’s good that they have a solution that works for them. As a woman facing menopause, I am actively considering it. I know some people who have lost a lot of weight with it, but I want to know the long term after effects. Until then I will stay a 14/16 and stick with diet and exercise.
Odd that she won’t say the name of the product?
Well whatever it is – good for her. I’m glad she’s someone who actually needed it. All these people using it to drop 20 pounds are taking it out of the supply for people who really need it
Probably because she’s not obligated to disclose what medications she’s on and she doesn’t want to be accused of using her show to promote a drug.
Kelly is using this medication for the right reasons and it sounds like she’s been given a hard time about it?!
First off, those meds are approved for both obesity and diabetes. At 5’ 3” and 200 pounds, this is the right call. Pre diabetes often leads to diabetes—your body is not functioning properly when you are pre diabetic.
Next, good for her for listening to her doctor and taking care of her health!
If Kelly’s bloodwork was so bad, then there’s no “probably” about her needing to lose some weight. This is the kind of situation these drugs are for,
Or … the medications she’s on are treating whatever glucose metabolism, endrocrine issues, etc caused her bloodwork, other test results to be abnormal and once those are corrected and her system is working more “normally” she’s losing weight.
A friend is in that situation, the shot she was prescribed is to treat endocrine, metabolism issues that were putting her long term health at risk.
The weight loss is a beneficial (for her, orthopedically and mentally) side effect, something that she hadn’t been able to achieve through diet and exercise (even though she was eating so few calories that she was experiencing hair loss and other issues). But weight loss was not the reason or the goal that drove her endocrinologist to prescribe the med. (It was all the other things … she’s now on lower doses, or completely off, other meds she’d been on for years because her system is now working more normally metabolically, hormonally)
Kelly specifically says she ended up having to lose weight because her bloodwork was so bad and that her doctor chased her for 2 years to lose weight, so I think we can safely say that both she and her doctor concluded she should lose weight.
She doesn’t owe us an explanation for how she lost the weight until it turns out that she was taking a medication that results in dramatic weightloss, while simultaneously promoting Keto gummies and suggesting that is how she lost her weight.
She is most likely on Zepbound which is the version of Mounjaro approved for weight loss. And good for her! It is indeed a fantastic drug – after years of plateauing on WW I lost 50 lbs in a year and have kept it off now for 8 months.
I believe her.
Well the issue is that no one cares about why she lost weight, they care about HOW she lost weight. Because they want to themselves. I’m on the bike right now (I can’t run because of osteoarthritis) and I’d much rather take a pill that makes the extra ten pounds I’m carrying fall off (pre menopausal, metabolism isn’t in my favor).
These drugs really aren’t for people who need to lose 10 pounds (unless you have other issues, such as prediabetes).
These are for people with real obesity, which is finally being treated as the medical condition it is, and not the moral failure it’s long been regarded to be.
Perimenopause is nothing to scoff about. I gained 45 pounds in 2 years without changing anything in my diet, and continuing to exercise. I lost my ideal weight, which I had managed to keep the same for a total of 35 years.
I’m gone from normal with a 23 BMI to 32 BMI straight into obesity.
Due to the hormonal mess I’m in, exercising has caused me 2 strains (left wrist and knee) and my spine is so under duress now that I cannot wake up without pain anymore. In the morning I struggle to walk.
So I’m going to beg my Dr to put me on a weight loss drug.
@AlpineWitch sounds like you are trying to lose more than 10 then.
With thyroid and prediabetes, her medications would have to be highly monitored for interactions. Some thyroid medications can cause weight gain.
I just found out my anti seizure drug can also be used to help with weight loss, I really hope it doesn’t start to run out, or the price goes up.
I hate the obsession people have with asking about these drugs. I took Mounjaro for a year – I needed it. I am prediabetic with a metabolic disorder, with an autoimmune disease that makes it difficult to get any kind of activity or cook for myself. It was not an easy way out because being on those drugs is hard. But it was worth it and anybody who wants to judge me, or anybody else for it, simply doesn’t get how important these medications are when you need them – and that’s kind of the point. We don’t know who needs them and it isn’t our business.
I don’t think anyone is obligated to share their medical issues with the public, but I actually do appreciate both of them talking about it here. Kelly is pretty clear that she was having metabolic issues and this medication (which could be any number of things and that’s between her and her doctor) helps her body work more properly. We don’t shame people who need heart medication or something to help their kidneys function better, but there is SOOO much wrapped up in these medications because they often result in noticeable weight loss – which also happens when your body and organs function more properly…
On a side note those concert photos are from this past weekend, I was lucky enough to see her perform and she was incredible. Such a fun show, and her voice is phenomenal.
I don’t begrudge anyone weight loss, but I am envious of anyone that can afford weight loss drugs. Before perimenopause I lost more than 100 lbs & kept it off for a year. But to get to my goal weight (which was still overweight per the BMI scale) I was practicing disordered eating. Then I had to take a second job (less time for exercise & exhaustion) my thyroid stopped working & the weight came back plus extra. Took a change in doctors to treat the thyroid (my other doctor was like it’s part of aging get used to it), but by then it was too late. Now I am in full blown perimenopause, older, with a dodgy thyroid and my insurance is like eff no to weight loss drugs. Instead it’s all go to meetings, eat less, exercise more or we’ll raise your premiums. It’s like a hell loop, where I lose 15lbs, get tired & gain it back and start over. So I envy ANYONE who can lose weight w/o drugs or can afford them.
No one is obligated to disclose their medical history or what medications they take- famous or not. She is clear that her DR prescribed her something but it wasn’t Ozempic. I honestly don’t think she even needed to disclose that but that’s my personal take.
And here I am, stuck with medications that cause weight gain.
Me too, though I’ll keep taking it because it stopped my post covid nausea. I’ve tried to get off it twice, and the nausea comes back.
She might not want to be seen as endorsing the drug she’s taking, especially is if it’s a prescription one. I assume that’s why she won’t name it.
She told the truth about how her weight loss was achieved. Not sure what more people would expect from her at this point.
It took her some time to tell us, but I’m pretty sure I’d be uncomfortable telling the public right away.
I tend to believe her when she says she wasn’t unhappy when she was bigger. I can believe her doctor pushed her to take the drug.
The use of weight loss medication, much like weight gain, is not a moral failing. So many of these comments are so gross. Let people work out with their doctors what they should or shouldn’t be taking.
Is it Berberine? I’ve been reading a lot about that supplement late.
I’m sorry that Kelly was having years long health issues. I’m also sorry that she felt like she had to share her why. I don’t think the why matters at all.
Mostly, I agree with Busy Philips.
“Then all of a sudden Ozempic comes along and people are like, ‘Oh, that’s a f–king big deal.’ Like, ‘We can’t have that.’ What in God’s name do you think has been happening?” Philipps continued. “It’s all … people hate women so much. We didn’t create the system that we live in.”
She went on to declare, “Let people just f–king live … Let people f–king have it without shame. I’m sorry … I’m so f–king sick of it all. Like, I can’t. A woman is a person who is fed the f–k up.”
It’s probably a GLP-1 agonist, of which Ozempic is one of several family members. If she was obese and suffering from Type 2 symptoms, then she’s using it as intended. It’s everybody in Hollywood who is not obese but using it to get even thinner that’s the problem. It’s frankly unethical for doctors to prescribe it that way, both for the people they are potentially harming should side effects be revealed down the line and people like Kelly who are using it correctly and now have to respond to suspicion.