In 1985, Oprah Winfrey appeared on The Tonight Show with Joan Rivers as the guest host. Oprah recently revisited this memory on The Jamie Kern Lima Show, reflecting on the harsh body-shaming she endured. “Joan Rivers turns to me and she says, ‘Tell me why are you so fat?’” Winfrey, 70, recalled. “On national television, and I don’t know what to do with that.”
At the time, Oprah internalized Rivers’ criticism. “I accepted that I should be shamed,” she said. “Because how dare me, be sitting up here on The Tonight Show.” Oprah admitted that instead of losing weight, she gained more. “I didn’t lose the 15 pounds. I went and ate my way to another 10 pounds.”
A Turning Point for Oprah
Oprah Winfrey’s struggle with weight continued as she visited a “fat farm,” a term used back then for a health retreat. She believed her weight might have cost her a role in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of The Color Purple. However, Spielberg called her while she was at the retreat. “‘I hear you’re at a fat farm,’” he said. “‘You lose a pound. You could lose this part.’”
This call marked a significant moment for Oprah. “The instant I let it go was the greatest life lesson I have ever received,” she explained. “I physically felt the release.” This experience taught her a valuable lesson. “Do everything you can, work as hard as you can, and then let it go.”
Moving Forward
Today, Oprah uses weight loss medication as a tool to maintain her health. “I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she said. Oprah is no longer willing to be shamed for her weight. “The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift,” she shared. “I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”