Media mogul Oprah Winfrey has opened up about a painful childhood memory involving her father that shaped her relationship with her body for years to come. The 71-year-old broadcasting legend revealed the lasting impact of a single, offhand comment made by her late father, Vernon Winfrey, about her weight.
The Haunting Hallway Remark
During a recent appearance on NBC's Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, Winfrey recalled the pivotal moment. She described being in a hallway as a young woman and stepping onto a scale. Her father, Vernon, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 88 after a battle with cancer, walked by and made a remark that would echo for decades.
"There is no need to weigh yourself because you always will be big," he told her, as Winfrey recounted. She was left stunned and deeply embarrassed. Vernon Winfrey reportedly added that her mother and aunts were also big, joking that they had once weighed down the back of his Buick car.
The talk show host admitted that this comment haunted her for a very long time. Every time she embarked on a new diet or weight loss effort, she would hear her father's words in her head, casting a shadow over her journey.
A New Perspective and Modern Tools
Winfrey's outlook has since evolved. "I know now that he was right," she told the hosts. She explained that she recognised she had a biological predisposition to obesity. This understanding coincided with her decision to use modern medical aids to manage her health.
In 2023, Winfrey publicly disclosed that she uses a GLP-1 agonist medication—the class of drugs that includes Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy—as a "maintenance tool" alongside significant diet and exercise changes. While she has not specified which exact drug she takes, she credits it with helping her lose weight and quieting the persistent "food noise" in her mind.
She now views these pharmaceuticals as a crucial instrument for health management, comparing them to blood pressure medication. "If you are on blood pressure medication and you stop your blood pressure medication, your blood pressure is going to go up. The same thing is true with this medication," she reasoned.
The Ongoing Journey of Maintenance
Winfrey's path has not been without its challenges. She detailed to Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones that after she once stopped taking the medication, she experienced a significant rebound. "I got off of it and then I gained three pounds, then five pounds, then ten pounds," she said, noting that the food noise returned intensely. In total, she regained 20 pounds during that period, despite efforts to eat healthily.
Today, her regimen is more holistic and consistent. She has overhauled her diet and ramped up her exercise, now regularly hiking an impressive seven miles. The haunting words of her father no longer plague her, replaced by a more compassionate and medically-informed approach to her wellbeing.
Oprah Winfrey's candid discussion highlights the enduring impact of childhood comments on body image and the complex, personal nature of the weight management journey in an era of new pharmaceutical options.
