Oprah Winfrey “starved herself for nearly five months” over the abuse she faced for her weight.
The 70-year-old media mogul has candidly opened up on the public humiliation she has felt over the years about her health and body, which led to her going to unhealthy lengths to lose weight.
Speaking in ‘An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution’, she said: “In an effort to combat all the shame, I starved myself for nearly five months, and then, wheeled out that wagon of fat that the internet will never let me forget.
“And after losing 67 pounds on a liquid diet, the next day, y’all, the very next day, I started to gain it back.”
Oprah insisted that “for 25 years, making fun of [her] weight was national sport”, and reflected on a devastating moment in 1990 when she found herself on a TV Guide magazine cover for its ‘Best and Worst Dressed’ edition.
She recalled: “I remember thinking, at first, ‘Oh, look! There I am on the cover.’ And then, I read the headline, that Mr. Blackwell – the tastemaker of the time – called me ‘Bumpy, lumpy, and downright dumpy’.
“I was ridiculed on every late night talk show for 25 years and tabloid covers for 25 years.”
The TV icon recently admitted she was “so excited” about the new show, and she hoped her story could help “people be liberated” and realise that those “suffering from weight and obesity” aren’t at fault.
She told Entertainment Tonight: “It’s really not your fault – it’s your brain… So once you figure that out, you can begin to get help to help you manage it, however you choose to do that.
“So I want people to stop being blamed for the choices that they make about their health.”