Joan Rivers’ daughter says comedian would have loved Ozempic

‘Oh she would have thought Ozempic was the greatest thing since sliced bread,’ Melissa says about her late mother

Joan Rivers’ daughter, Melissa Rivers, has revealed that the late comedian would have been a big fan of Ozempic.

The 55-year-old TV host spoke candidly about her mother, who died in 2014 at the age of 81, during an interview with People, published on 17 January. According to Melissa, there are things about today’s world that her mother would have loved, including drugs that have been used for weight loss, such as diabetes medication Ozempic.

“Oh she would have thought Ozempic was the greatest thing since sliced bread,” Melissa said. “Her two least favourite things were diet and exercise, so if she could find a way to avoid both? Awesome.”

Ozempic, which is typically used to treat type 2 diabetes, is an injection to the stomach, thigh or arm that is meant to help lower blood sugar by helping the pancreas produce more insulin. Recently, the drug has increased in popularity as a weight-loss method. In addition, new GLP-1 drugs, like Wegovy and Mounjaro, have also been used to help people lose weight.

Speaking to People, Melissa, who is the only child of Joan and Edgar Rosenberg, poked fun at all the current fashion trends that her mother would not approve of.

“She would not have bought into athleisure and people wearing sweatpants everywhere,” Melissa said. “She’d be like no, you still get dressed, you pull yourself together, you put on a little lip gloss and then you go out.”

According to the actor, her mother would have been thrilled about one important topic in today’s world, adding: “But she would have been very excited by body acceptance. That would have actually made her really happy.”

She also opened up about the things she wishes she could tell Joan, noting that she thinks “about her the most when something ridiculous happens”.

“So many of our phone calls began with: ‘Okay so, are you ready for this?’” she explained, before describing how she hears her mother’s voice “way too much”. She also shared specific moments when she thinks about her conversations with the comedian.

“I especially think of her when I’m about to get upset, and have to stop and think: ‘What would she do in this particular situation?’ And I can hear her voice saying: ‘Oh Melissa, please just stop. Get over it!’” she recalled.

Melissa isn’t the first celebrity to speak out about the increased popularity of weight loss medication. Last month, TV host Oprah Winfrey confessed that she used an unnamed weight loss drug as a tool to manage her weight. She also praised the medication for allowing her to live a healthier lifestyle, amid career-spanning scrutiny over her weight.

“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for. I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself,” she said during an interview with People, published in December. “It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years. I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself.”

In August 2023, Sharon Osbourne also spoke candidly about the side effects she faced when using Ozempic to help her with weight loss. During an appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, the former TV star revealed that while she was constantly nauseous during her first few weeks of taking the drug, her symptoms gradually improved. “For me, the first few weeks was f*****g s**t because you just throw up all the time. You feel so nauseous,” Osbourne said. “After a couple of weeks it goes.”

She also specified that while she took the medication for four months and was able to lose 30 pounds, she was no longer on Ozempic. However, according to Osbourne, she was having a difficult time with hunger, as one of the effects of the drug medication is the reduction of a person’s appetite.