Kelly Osbourne Has Said That People Only Hate On Weight Loss Drug Ozempic Because They Can’t Afford It, And People With Diabetes Are Begging Her To Understand That That’s The Whole Point

Kelly’s controversial comments come just one month after she said that she has “learned when to shut up and stop talking.”

By
Stephanie Soteriou
by Stephanie Soteriou

BuzzFeed Staff

In recent months, Sharon Osbourne has become one of the most vocal critics of Ozempic, a drug that has recently become popular with celebrities because of its weight loss benefits.

Sharon Osbourne in a white blazer with black lapels and accents, attending a formal event
Dave Benett / Dave Benett / Getty Images

Ozempic hasn’t actually been approved by the FDA for weight management and is instead supposed to be used by adults with heart disease or diabetes.


Last year, Sharon admitted that she had been using the drug for weight loss, but she lost a lot more weight than she intended to. 


“I know I look gaunt, and I know everything that goes along with it,” Sharon told the Daily Mail at the time. “I’m too gaunt, and I can’t put any weight on. I want to, because I feel I’m too skinny. [...] Be careful what you wish for.”


She also acknowledged that the drug can be “very dangerous” because the weight loss becomes addictive. She added, “I couldn’t stop losing weight, and I can’t afford to lose anymore.”

During an appearance on UK talk show Good Morning Britain in November, Sharon said that Ozempic shouldn’t be available to young people for weight loss because people need to be able to “totally understand” the “side effects” that come with taking it.

Sharon Osbourne in a striped suit with a pearl necklace
Steven Ferdman / Getty Images

She also reiterated that she now wants to gain “a few pounds,” but her body is “not listening” as a result of her Ozempic usage.


Sharon then added that her extreme weight loss has unsettled her husband, Ozzy Osbourne, because he is now “scared” for her health. 

But despite all of this, Sharon’s own daughter has heaped praise on Ozempic in a new interview, which has sparked serious backlash.

Sharon and Kelly Osbourne posing at a media event
Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images for EJAF

Speaking to E! News, Kelly Osbourne said that she thinks the drug is “amazing” as she lashed out at people who criticize it.


“There are a million ways to lose weight — why not do it through something that's isn't as boring as working out?" she said.


"People hate on it because they want to do it," Kelly added. “And the people who hate on it the most are the people who are secretly doing it, or pissed off that they can't afford it. Unfortunately, right now it's something that is very expensive, but it eventually won't be because it actually works."

Needless to say, people have taken to social media to call out what Kelly has said, with extra scrutiny being given to her comment that people are mad because they “can’t afford it.”

Kelly Osbourne, with long purple hair, in a strapless black gown with sheer overlay at the Grammys; she carries a clutch with a recording sleeve design
Lionel Hahn / Getty Images

It has been argued that this is the entire point of a lot of the Ozempic backlash: Rich people are buying the drug to lose weight, which has made it harder for people who actually need the drug for genuine illnesses to get access to it. 


Sharing Kelly’s quotes on X, formerly known as Twitter, one person wrote, “actually i think it’s mostly the diabetic people who can’t access their medication because everyone else is using it as get skinny quick fix but ok.”


“Rich ppl have easy access to healthy food options, personal trainers and chefs but they choose to take ozempic that’s not meant for them and causing shortages for those who truly need them,” another added.


Somebody else wrote, “she’s so out of touch and ignorant it’s beyond comical atp it’s just embarrassing.” While another user asked, “didn’t her own mom say she had to stop using ozempic because she got really sick,  lost 42 pounds in 4 months on it and couldn’t gain it back.”

And the same was being said over on Reddit, where one user wrote, “Yes Kelly, that's why people are complaining, because we're jealous poors. Not at all because the weight loss craze has caused medical shortages for diabetics or anything like that.”

Kelly Osbourne in a yellow floral dress and with blue-gray hair, at a media event
Araya Doheny / Getty Images for the Art of Elysium

Someone else spoke from personal experience, sharing, “Sure my mom who is diabetic had to switch medications because people who don’t actually need it are using it and she could never get it refilled but we’re all just haters!!!”


Another person echoed that point: “Yeah, when many of my diabetic patients can't get their prescription because these celebs keep pushing it on backorder, I'm going to be a hater.”


Others felt that it was irresponsible of Kelly to promote taking an unnecessary drug that could have unpleasant side effects. Somebody wrote, “Several of my friends are taking this. I know it's anecdotal, but the vomiting is something that all of them have experienced.”


“Side effects are vomiting and diarrhea, it works because they probably can’t keep anything down,” another echoed. One more shared: “My dad has been on a variety of these weekly shots for his diabetes and has lost weight, but it is because his appetite is super suppressed. He hates it because though it manages his sugar, he has no interest in eating.”


Another user wrote, “Once these underlying side effects kick in, let’s see if she’ll be bragging out taking away people’s diabetes medication.”

Somebody else referenced another of Kelly’s recently resurfaced scandals: “‘People are jealous because they’re poor’ is a WILD sentiment coming from someone whose career is still recovering from ‘I only support and see immigrants for cleaning my toilet’.”

Kelly Osbourne on The View in 2015
ABC

In case you missed it, last month Kelly addressed her controversial 2015 appearance on The View, where she now-infamously said, “If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilet, Donald Trump?”


The moment immediately sparked fierce backlash as it went viral, with Kelly forced to issue a statement apologizing for her “poor choice of words” and denying accusations that she is racist.


Speaking to Rolling Stone last month, Kelly said that the response to her comments was “painful,” “life-changing,” and “chaotic.”


She then added, “I’ve learned when to shut up and to stop talking. I’m definitely not the person I was before that incident.”

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