In case you haven’t noticed, tennis star Serena Williams has been popping out showing off a new, leaner version of herself in these streets. But unlike some celebs who prefer to keep the secrets of their slimmed-down success to themselves, Williams is crediting the GLP-1 weight loss drug Zepbound with helping her drop 31 pounds when diet and exercise alone did not work. She’s now a paid spokesperson for Ro.co, an telehealth service company that allows patients to have GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound delivered to their doors. Full disclosure – Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, is a Ro investor and serves on its board.
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But not everyone is on board with Williams’ endorsement. Actress Jameela Jamil is just one of the people who is speaking out against Williams’ decision to be paid to promote the use of GLP-1s. She’s worried that the public doesn’t have all of the facts about these drugs, which many believe are a quick fix for weight loss. She highlighted some of the potentially dangerous side effects, including hair loss, depression, pancreatitis and cancer, in an August 24 Instagram post.
“Go ahead and take the drug or anything you like… Please just make sure you have access to proper healthcare before you make the decision to take any drug that has drastic results,” she captioned her post.
She added that regular folks don’t have the resources to get help when things go wrong.
“If things go wrong, you don’t have a billion dollars to fix it, that’s why I don’t like celebrities pushing drugs with such drastic documented side effects,” she added.
TikToker @actu4ltrash was quick to cosign, saying Williams promoting Zepbound has her in a bad place because it contributes to the narrative that thin is in.
“Not only does even like that rhetoric promote snap back culture, which I hate, because you should not be the one to snap back to nothing when you just made life. You just grew a human from scratch, you ain’t gotta snap sh*t!” she said in a post. “The fact that one of the greatest athletes in the world is now a tool to push that rhetoric out though, it unnerves me.”
But some are calling for Jamil and other critics to exit the conversation and defending the tennis star’s choice to take the drug to support her weight loss journey.
“Why can’t people just NOT have opinions on what other people do?? Why do you care if someone is taking a GLP1 or anything else? People are responsible for making their own informed decisions. As you say the side effects are listed on the website and in the literature that comes with the prescription! Stop caring what people CHOSE to do with THEIR bodies,” wrote someone in the comments of Jamil’s post.
Meccavellii spoke out on TikTok, saying that Williams has more than earned the right to lose weight her own way, considering all of the unfair and often racist criticism she’s experienced for her appearance over the years.
“I don’t judge Serena Willams for anything she does because I’m old enough to remember the media being very mean to Serena,” she said in her post.
Commenters agreed, adding that after all she’s been through, Williams deserves to be left TF alone.
“I just want her to be happy. She deserves peace and happiness,” wrote someone.
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