Sophie Turner condemns weight-loss drug ads in New York City subway: ‘WTF’

NYC subway ads promote new weight-loss program using injectable semaglutide medications

Sophie Turner has criticised a number of advertisements for weight-loss prescription drugs that have been plastered throughout New York City subway stations.

On 3 April, the 27-year-old actor re-shared an Instagram post to her Stories that featured pictures of advertisements for Ro, a telehealth company offering a new weight loss program with the injectable semaglutide medication, Wegovy.

The post included a tweet from writer Sophie Vershbow, who first spotted the weight-loss ads in the Times Square subway station. She wrote: “The Ozempic ads plastered across the Times Square subway station can f*** all the way off.”

The tweet was then shared to Instagram by plus-size model and activist Charli Howard, before being re-posted by the Game of Thrones star. Above the post on her Instagram Story, Turner simply added: “WTF”

Many people, including Vershbow, confused the subway advertisements for ones promoting Ozempic, a popular type 2 diabetes medication that is often prescribed for weight loss. However, the floor-to-ceiling ads were actually for Ro’s new “Body Program”, which offers customers the option to “lose weight with Wegovy”.

Wegovy, a brand name for semaglutide, is an injectable prescription medication for adults with obesity. The FDA-approved medication is the same drug as Ozempic, but is instead used for weight loss in patients who are obese rather than for treating diabetes.

The controversial subway ads promote the weight-loss medications as “a weekly shot to lose weight,” with the campaign showing individuals injecting the medication into their arms or stomachs. On its website, the telehealth company claims the Body Program – which costs $135 a month for the program alone – helps patients “lose weight by pairing revolutionary medication with coaching, care, and healthy lifestyle changes to make it last”. The cost of medication can reach up to $1,600 a month out of pocket if a patient’s insurance doesn’t cover the weight loss prescription.

Sophie Turner calls out weight loss prescription drug ads in NYC subways (Instagram / Sophie Turner)

Meanwhile, Ozempic is a once-weekly antidiabetic injection used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, although some of its side effects include weight loss. Ozempic – which is a brand name for semaglutide – works by mimicking a hormone that regulates appetite, by creating the feeling of fullness.

Many famous figures have been accused of using the once-weekly antidiabetic injection as a quick fix for losing weight. The semaglutide injection has risen so much in popularity that it’s sparked a global shortage of Ozempic.

Turner isn’t the only celebrity to address the alleged widespread use of the drug. Last month, Uncut Gems star Julia Fox hit out at rumours that she uses Ozempic by calling out those who use the diabetes medication for weight loss. “All these people are coming for me saying that I take the weight loss things...people are saying that I’m taking Ozempic or whatever it’s called,” Fox said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight on 19 March. “I’m not and I’ve never have...I would never do that. There are diabetics that need it.”

The Good Place actor Jameela Jamil also accused celebrities at the 2023 Oscars of using “weight-loss injections” in an Instagram post. “The images last. But the methods aren’t sustainable, nor are they normally sustained, until the next awards season!” Jamil wrote. “Where again the images of ageless, weightless women are used as a tool of aspiration.”

Jamil said that she “loved so many of the dresses, and the people in them”, however, “it is an industry pressure and a result of f****** tiny samples from designers that are straight off the runway from fashion month, that result in such a forced uniform thinness, and fear of wrinkles.”

“I’m not being judgemental,” she added. “I just don’t want you to be triggered, or to make any sudden decisions, because of the images of impossible standards that come out today.

“It’s a temporary extreme,” Jamil warned. “None of this lasts.”

Jamil’s comments came after she revealed that she was “deeply concerned” about the use of the medications to lose weight.