There are plenty of times when celebrity transparency is celebrated and encouraged (see: Jessica Biel's honesty [1] around her "The Better Sister" physique). But sometimes, we all need to take a step back and remember that celebrities don't owe us anything when it comes to sharing their personal information, especially when it comes to their health [2].
That conversation recently ignited when Serena Williams posted a gym pic on Instagram [3], captioning it, "Working out and working on my angles." What should have been a moment to celebrate a strong woman and sports icon became a takedown moment, with a flood of strangers criticizing her body via the comments section and speculating that she uses Ozempic [4]. "I like the thick Serena better," one commenter wrote. "Ozempic. Doesn't even look like Serena anymore," posted another.
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Now, just a few weeks later, Williams is opening up about her GLP-1 experience. The tennis icon told Today in an exclusive interview [6] on Aug. 21 that she's in a multiyear partnership with Ro and has been taking GLP-1s for about a year. Following the birth of her second child, she's lost 31 pounds. "As a woman, you go through different cycles in your life. . . . No matter what I did — running, walking, I would walk for hours because they say that's good, I literally was playing a professional sport — and I could never go back to where I needed to be for my health. Then, after my second kid, it just even got harder," Williams said. "So then I was like, OK, I have to try something different."
Williams also took time to clear up the confusion around the idea that GLP-1s are a quick fix or shortcut, because they're not. "As an athlete and as someone that has done everything, I just couldn't get my weight to where I needed to be at a healthy place — and believe me, I don't take shortcuts," she said.
Our take: Williams does not owe us an explanation, and neither does anyone else on GLP-1s. Whether someone uses GLP-1s is not the issue. Williams's openness and willingness to share about her experience is great because it was on her own terms. But the real problem here is why so many people feel entitled to "accuse" someone of using a GLP-1. And why do total strangers feel they are owed an explanation about something so personal? Your health decisions are yours alone — even if you are a celebrity.
Experts Featured in This Article
Erin Meyer, LCPC, is a licensed therapist and founder of Mindful Healing Works [7].
"We live in a culture that expects people, especially women, to bare it all. And if you're in the public eye, that pressure is even louder," says Erin Meyer, LCPC, a therapist and founder of Mindful Healing Works [8]. "But just because someone shares their story doesn't mean everyone has to. We have to stop treating disclosure like it's a requirement for authenticity."
GLP-1 use is becoming increasingly common, and no one can deny that it's changing a lot of people's lives. Still, there's unwarranted shame and stigma surrounding people who use the medications for weight loss [9]. "GLP-1s have stirred up a lot of opinions, mostly because of how they've been portrayed on social media. We've all seen the headlines and the before-and-after posts, and for many, that's all they know," Meyer says. "It becomes a debate, a controversy, a moral issue, and that pressure can make people feel like they either have to hide or explain themselves."
Meyer says many people, celebrities or not, can feel pressure to disclose that they use GLP-1s if they've lost weight or if someone is commenting on their body. But it's important to remember that "you don't owe anyone an explanation," Meyer says. "You just don't. Especially when it comes to your health.
"There's this idea that in order to be accepted, we have to disclose, confess, over-explain, and a lot of that is tied to how we're wired," she adds. But no matter what your feelings or reactions are around GLP-1s, no one (including your family, your friends, or celebs on Instagram) owes you an explanation when it comes to their body and their health.
So let's stop demanding this type of transparency from celebrities or anyone else in our lives. Instead, let's welcome honesty and transparency when it serves that person, and keep in mind that you don't always have to know what people are doing when it comes to their health (and you don't always know the full picture).
"Celebrities might have a platform, but they're still human," Meyer says. "They get to have boundaries. They get to choose when and if they share. No one gets to demand that level of access to someone else's healing process."
Mercey Livingston [10] is a writer and editor with eight-plus years of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition for media outlets and brands including Well+Good, Shape, and Women's Health. She was the fitness editor at Peloton and held editorial roles at Equinox, Shape, and Well+Good. Mercey is a NASM-certified personal trainer and women's fitness specialist. She's also a certified holistic health coach through the Institute For Integrative Nutrition, with an additional certification in hormone health.