Going down as arguably the greatest talk show host of all time with one of the best TV shows of all time, Oprah Winfrey is back in the interviewer chair for an ABC special titled An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, airing on Monday, March 18, at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.
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As reflected on ABC’s website, Winfrey stated of the special, "It is a very personal topic for me and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity. This special will bring together medical experts, leaders in the space and people in the day-to-day struggle to talk about health equity and obesity with the intention to ultimately release the shame, judgment and stigma surrounding weight."
To Winfrey's point, since ascending to superstardom, she's been rather open about her pursuit of good health and her weight-loss journey. When her Emmy-winning talk show was on the air she often shared her struggles while promoting or debunking the hottest fitness and dietary fads of that time. Additionally, until recently, she was actually on the board of directors for WeightWatchers. After serving on the board since 2015, according to a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, her reason for resigning was the following:
"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 want to talk about."
Also, she said 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."
If you haven't yet taken a look at a trailer for the Oprah/ABC special, take a look at the clip below. As you'll see, experts and those with personal experience talk heavily about the increased use of medication to spark weight loss, discussing the pros and cons of that avenue.
An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution airs on March 18, at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC. It becomes available to stream the next day on Hulu.
