Whoopi Goldberg reveals she used weight loss drug after weighing ‘almost 300 pounds'

Originally appeared on E! Online

Whoopi Goldberg is sharing insight into her weight loss journey.

The View cohost recently revealed she used Mounjaro—a type 2 diabetes medication—to slim down after gaining weight in 2021.

"I will tell you, I weighed almost 300 pounds when I made Till," the 68-year-old said on the March 19 episode of the daytime talk show. "I had taken all those steroids, I was on all this stuff, and one of the things that's helped me drop the weight is Mounjaro. That's what I use."

The Oscar winner realized she needed to shape up after noticing how different she looked.

"I just always felt like me, and then I saw me, and thought, 'Oh, that's a lot of me,'" she explained. "My weight has gone and come, and gone and up and down. But it's never been an issue for me because I don't listen to what other people say about me, so it has never been a problem. It's a matter of how we treat ourselves."

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If anything, "The Color Purple" alum hopes to change the stigma surrounding weight loss drugs. As she put it, "Maybe the key is to stop judging everybody."

"You have to take responsibility for yourself and see what's going on with your body," she continued. "You hit a certain age and everything falls to the ground. You just pick it up, put it over the back and keep it moving."

Goldberg's story resonated with View cohost Sunny Hostin, who revealed she also turned to weight loss medication after gaining 40 pounds during the coronavirus lockdown.

"I love to cook, and I found out I love to eat, and I was horrified by the fact I would have to come out on air, so I also took Mounjaro," she shared. "I got all these nasty [messages], 'You're too skinny. Why did you do this? You're taking a drug away from diabetics.' There is shame when you gain weight and I had never experienced that kind of shame before."

Hostin noted that since using the drug, she's not only slimmed down but her health has improved.

"My cholesterol is 140 now," she said. "I feel better, I think I look better, and that's what this is about for people."