Bethenny Frankel issues warning after stars reveal weight loss

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Bethenny Frankel wades into the Ozempic discussion and shares her thoughts on the weight loss drugs. Her comments come after many celebrities have either been accused of taking the drug for weight loss or admitted to taking Ozempic to lose weight quickly.

Ozempic is the brand name of a type 2 diabetes drug known as semaglutide, according to the FDA. Since the drug was found to lead to rapid weight loss as well, there has been a lot of debate and speculation as to which stars are stuck on it.

Frankel posted a video to her Instagram on April 4 warning people not to use the drug and discussing its potentially “very scary” impact on people’s lives and communities. Frankel said it’s reminiscent of weight loss pills that were popular when she was younger and were later found to have had devastating effects on people’s health, such as Ma Huang, also known as ephedra.

Studies found that pills containing ephedra helped weight loss, but negative side effects such as heart palpitations and psychiatric episodes led the FDA to ban drugs containing ephedra in 2004. Frankel said she believes the same will happen with Ozempic, but it will take months or years to know the true impact.

“This Ozempic thing is going to go sideways,” she concluded. Reiterating her point in the caption of her post, she wrote, “When someone is struggling with obesity and working with a doctor, that’s one thing (and it’s all new to this application) but skinny rich country club dead end… American. Buying that online and in Mexican pharmacies is another matter… No one walks out without paying the bill. How do people know the long-term effects?”

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Jackie Goldschneider also issued a warning about Ozempic in February 2023

Frankel’s comments are similar to Jackie Goldschneider’s warnings in February 2023. The “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star, who opened up about her battle with an eating disorder on the show, told Page Six that she feels very passionate about the topic and was “appalled” at its use in celebrity circles.

She said the rapid weight loss could likely contribute to a rise in eating disorders as people become addicted to the drug’s effects. Goldschneider also pointed out that it’s unclear what will happen if people stop taking the drugs, warning people that the long-term effects aren’t fully known.

At the time, Goldschneider said there were people in her environment and “in the ‘housewife’ world” who took Ozempic or similar drugs, but did not name them.

Dolores Catania and Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi have admitted to taking semaglutide

A few Bravolebrities have admitted to using Ozempic or other weight loss drugs, including Golnesa ‘GG’ Gharachedaghi and Dolores Catania. Gharachedaghi has posted on her Instagram profile about her journey with the drug, including videos showing her injecting herself with the drug.

“I’m on the weight loss tapes, honey, OK,” she said in a video. “I’m just not going to lie about it because I always stay honest about what’s fake.” She said she took it for four weeks because she was struggling to lose weight after steroid injections she was given and she’s already lost 11 pounds have.

RHONJ star Catania has also admitted to taking semaglutide for weight loss for the past six weeks. She made the comments on “Watch What Happens Live” on April 4 and hinted that all of her co-stars are also on the drug. “I didn’t want to come to the reunion and look taller than everyone else, so I got on the moving train,” she revealed. Catania pointed out that she’s actually taking mounjaro, not ozempic, which is another type of the same drug.

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