Entertainment mogul host Oprah Winfrey said she decided to exit the board of directors of WeightWatchers to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Oprah Winfrey revealed the real reason she left WeightWatchers last month after nearly 10 years of working with them.
Winfrey announced last month that she would not seek reelection to WeightWatchers’ board of directors at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in May 2024. She has been on the board since 2015 when she purchased a 10% stake in the company.
The 70-year-old TV icon, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, was asked why she decided to leave Weight Watchers after being on the board since 2015.
On Thursday’s episode of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Winfrey explained that her decision to leave WeightWatchers was motivated by a desire to “be able to talk about whatever I want to talk about” regarding weight loss issues.
Although many say her departure from the company’s board occurred after she revealed in 2023 that she was using a weight loss medication.
However, Oprah explained that WeightWatchers may be dabbling in weight loss drugs, and she didn’t want to be censored.
“I decided [to leave the WeightWatchers board] because this special was really important to me, and I wanted to be able to talk about whatever I wanted to talk about. WeightWatchers is now in the business of being a weight-health company that also administers drug medications for weight. I did not want to have the appearance of any conflict of interest.”
Oprah Winfrey also has a new ABC primetime show scheduled for an hour-long episode titled “An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution” to air on Monday, March 18.
She aims to discuss weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy.
