Jameela Jamil slams Serena Williams over weight-loss medication use
Jameela Jamil finds it "uncomfortable" seeing Serena Williams promote the use of weight-loss medication.
Jameela Jamil has called out Serena Williams for promoting weight-loss medication.
The 43-year-old tennis champion revealed last week that she shed 31lbs using the GLP-1 treatment - which includes the likes of Ozempic and Mounjaro and a plays a key role in regulating blood sugar, appetite, and digestion.
However, Jameela - who has been outspoken on issues including weight culture and body image - has slammed Serena and said she finds it "uncomfortable" that she is promoting a costly drug that could potentially have many side effects and find users re-gaining the weight should they no longer afford it.
The 39-year-old actress penned on her Instagram Story: "Serena Williams is selling GLP-1s.
"The thing I feel most uncomfortable about here is that celebrities have access to doctors most others don't have access to. These 'miracle' weight loss drugs come at a price."
She continued: "The side effects can include paralysis of the gastric system, pancreatitis, cancer, hair loss, osteoporosis, severe malnutrition, muscle mass loss, depression (there have been reports of suicide), thyroid issues, and blindness. If for some reason you suddenly have to come off, many people gain the weight back and then some, fast. And it's much harder to then lose."
Serena insists she did "a lot of research" before deciding to go down the medication route.
She found it hugely "frustrating" when she was unable to get her pre-pregnancy physique back after giving birth to daughter Olympia in 2017 and faced similar struggles when her second daughter Adira was born in August 2023.
She told People magazine: “[After Olympia]I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained.
“It was crazy because I'd never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at.
“I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best. So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked.”
Serena told how she lost a lot of weight in the two weeks after she and husband Alexis Ohanian welcomed their second daughter into the world, but then nothing else.
She recalled: “I just thought, gosh, I don't know if I would ever be able to get back to where I needed to get to."
Serena then turned to healthcare company Ro, who guided her in choosing a GLP-1 treatment - but was hesitant before going ahead.
She said: “I did a lot of research on it. I was like, 'is this a shortcut? What are the benefits? What are not the benefits?' I really wanted to dive into it before I just did it.""
After stopping breastfeeding when Adira was six months old, Serena was able to start the weekly injections and now she feels better than ever.
She said: “They were super supportive and it was easy to get the medication. I lost over 31 pounds using my GLP-1 and I was really excited about that weight loss.
“I just can do more. I'm more active. My joints don't hurt as much. I just feel like something as simple as just getting down is a lot easier for me. And I do it a lot faster. I feel like I have a lot of energy and it's great. I just feel pretty good about it."
The 23-time Grand Slam champion stressed that she's continued to exercise and eat healthily alongside the medication.
She said: “GLP-1 helped me enhance everything that I was already doing — eating healthy and working out, whether it was as a professional athlete at the top level of tennis or just going to the gym every day.
“So I think that it’s important for everyone to hear my story. And I feel like there's a lot of people that can relate.”
