Serena Williams’ Weight Loss Drug Use Draws Jameela Jamil’s Concern

Jameela Jamil is weighing in on what makes her “uncomfortable” about Serena Williams’ admission that she is using a GLP-1 drug for weight loss.

Williams shared that she is using a weight loss drug in an exclusive interview with the “Today” show on Friday, and she said she’s lost 31 pounds.

Williams appeared on the show as the new face of Ro, a telehealth company that can prescribe weight-loss drugs. Her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is a board member and also an investor in the company.

“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,” Jamil said in an Instagram shared on Sunday, before listing off all of the potential side effects of the drugs and criticizing the media for not sharing them.

“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 said.

As Jamil’s post picked up steam, she added clarifications to her statements in her caption, including that Williams’ husband is invested in the company.

“Another reason we should take every celebrity endorsement with a pinch of salt,” she wrote.

“The Good Place” actor added that her post was also “about transparency, not judging Serena’s body. Nor is it judging you or your decision to take a GLP-1.”

Jamil continued to post more videos about the topic on her Instagram stories, and made another follow-up Instagram post on Monday centered around Williams.

“I also wrote a lengthy substack defending Serena’s right to do WHATEVER she wants with her body,” she wrote. “Her body has been policed enough over the decades. It’s not about her or her choice. It’s about how celebrities promote drugs and diet products. All gloss, none of the inconvenient truths.”

When Williams appeared on the “Today” show last week, she explained her reasoning for going on a GLP-1.

“This all started after I had my (first) kid,” she said. “No matter what I did — running, walking, I would walk for hours because they say that’s good, I literally was playing a professional sport — and I could never go back to where I needed to be for my health. Then, after my second kid, it just even got harder. So then I was like, OK, I have to try something different.”

She shared that while she is aware of side effects that come with the drug, she “just didn’t have any.”