Rebel Wilson defends use of Ozempic for weight management

Wilson’s memoir, Rebel Rising, releases on 4 April

Rebel Wilson has candidly opened up about her past relationship with food and her brief experience with Ozempic.

In promotion of her new memoir, Rebel Rising, the 44-year-old Australian actress spoke to The Sunday Times about the details ahead of its 4 April release. Wilson, who changed her name from Melanie to Rebel, touched on the book topics, including how she used food as a coping mechanism, especially growing up around her late father, who she claims to have had an abusive relationship with.

Rather than addressing her feelings head on, the Pitch Perfect star said she would gravitate toward sweet treats as an aid.

“I wasn’t dealing with my emotions properly, I was just stuffing my face and holding on to them,” she told the outlet.

Since 2020, Wilson has been on a weight loss journey, with the actress revealing she’s lost 80 pounds in four years. The comic utilised several different methods, including a brief stint on Ozempic, the diabetes drug that has increased in popularity for its weight loss effects.

Wilson said she didn’t use Ozempic until after she lost weight, adding that the weekly injection helped her maintain her new shape, which she described as “still curvy and solid”.

“Someone like me could have a bottomless appetite for sweets, so I think those drugs can be good,” she noted to The Sunday Times. But though the drug proved to be beneficial for her, Wilson is no longer taking it.

The Senior Year star is proud of the place she’s in now with her body. However, she said people expressed concern for what would happen to her career if she lost weight.

“Basically, no one apart from my mum wanted me to lose weight,” Wilson admitted. “People thought I’d lose my pigeonhole in my career, playing the fat funny character, and they wanted me to continue in that.”

Ignoring these hesitations, the on-screen star developed a newfound confidence, appreciation, and understanding in the relationship between her mental and physical health.

She said: “I feel strongly that young women shouldn’t try to obsess over looking like Victoria’s Secret models — they should just look like themselves.

“I know that my relationship with food is complicated,” Wilson added.