Julia Fox blasts celebrity use of Ozempic for weight loss: ‘There are diabetics that need it’

The diabetes medication has gained popularity for its weight loss side effects, as a number of celebrities have been accused of using Ozempic for that purpose

Julia Fox has hit out at rumours that she’s taking Ozempic by calling out those who have used the diabetes medication for weight loss.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Sunday (19 March), the Uncut Gems star denied online claims that she has taken Ozempic to lose weight. Fox, who was joined by her Forbidden Fruits podcast co-host Niki Takesh, maintained that she would “never” take the semaglutide injection because there are people with diabetes “that need it”.

“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 told the outlet. “I’m not and I never have...I would never do that. There are diabetics that need it.”

“It’s a diabetes medication and there’s people that actually need it,” Takesh added, referring to the ongoing shortage of the prescription medication due to those using the one-weekly injection for weight loss.

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 the brand name for semaglutide – works by mimicking a hormone that regulates appetite by creating the feeling of fullness.

Recently, many celebrities have been rumoured to use the diabetes medication as a quick fix for losing weight. Similar injections such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have also risen in popularity on social media apps like TikTok, so much so that the increased demand for Ozempic has sparked a global shortage. The drug now costs up to $1,500 per month.

However, doctors have warned that people taking the diabetes medications to lose weight may experience unwanted side effects such as facial ageing, or “Ozempic face”.

The Ozempic craze has not just taken over social media. The diabetes injections have also gained interest in Hollywood, as celebrities call out their fellow stars for their rumoured use of the “off-label” weight loss method. Last week, Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel joked about the rumoured widespread use of Ozempic among A-listers when delivering his Oscars monologue. “Everybody looks so great. When I look around this room, I can’t help but wonder ‘Is Ozempic right for me?’” the comedian told the audience.

Meanwhile, actor Jameela Jamil accused some celebrities at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony 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.”

The Good Place star 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.”

As Ozempic becomes widely known for its weight loss side effects, some celebrities have been forced to deny their transformations were a result of taking the diabetes medication. Comedian Eric Andre recently shared in an interview with Rolling Stone that he lost 40 pounds, but he was “too scared” to use Ozempic.

“No Ozempic!” Andre said. “But I considered peptides, which is the land between supplements and steroids, but I was too scared.”

“Ozempic just makes you skinny, but Ozempic f***s you up, man. That s*** is gnarly.”

Both Khloe Kardashian and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards have also shut down online speculation they used an injectable diabetes medicine to lose weight.