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Little Mix‘s Jade Thirlwall says she is resisting Ozempic despite the public scrutiny around her body.
In an interview with The Guardian published Saturday, the singer said that many of the negative comments she receives are about weight gain.
“I have a daily battle with myself not to go on Ozempic,” Thirlwall told The Guardian. “I don’t judge people that do, but because I have a history of eating disorders, I don’t know where taking something like that would end for me.”
Thirlwall said she had only been out of the hospital for a few months after treatment for anorexia when she auditioned for “The X Factor” in 2011 at 18.
“Historically, if I’ve ever felt that something is out of my control, then restricting food has been a means of controlling my life in a very toxic way,” she said.
Little Mix was formed on “The X Factor” in 2011, comprising Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, and Jesy Nelson. Nelson left the group in 2020 amid backlash over Blackfishing, and in 2022, the band went on hiatus to focus on their solo careers.
Thirlwall said that much of the scrutiny around her body comes from people comparing her to her younger self.
“Now I’m in my 30s and the healthiest I’ve ever been, but every time I post a picture, there are comments saying, ‘She must be pregnant.’ The sad thing is that it’s usually women,” Thirlwall said.
“But people are used to seeing me in a group environment five or 10 years ago when I was stick-thin because I was in my early 20s with an eating disorder,” she said.
A representative for Thirlwall did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.
Ozempic and Wegovy are brand names for semaglutide, an injectable drug originally developed for diabetes. In 2021, the FDA approved semaglutide for use in weight management. The drug works by regulating hunger signals, allowing people to feel full while eating less.
However, it has side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, and constipation. Some patients also reported feeling disgusted by the foods they used to enjoy.
Dr. Francesco Rubino, the chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King’s College London, told Business Insider in 2022 that it was common for people to regain the weight after stopping treatment.
Several doctors also told Business Insider in July that they’ve seen a sharp increase in patients on GLP-1 medications when they enter treatment for eating disorders.
In recent years, many Hollywood celebrities have addressed speculation about whether they’ve used weight-loss drugs.
In May 2023, NBA star Charles Barkley said he lost over 60 pounds in six months after taking Mounjaro while eating healthily and exercising. Later that year, in December 2023, Oprah Winfrey said she uses weight-loss medication to help manage her weight.
Meanwhile, stars such as Lizzo, Kelly Clarkson, and Jesse Plemons, have denied using such medications, attributing their weight loss instead to lifestyle changes.
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