“Please don’t be taken advantage of,” she warns.
We’ve all spent decades taking recommendations from Oprah on everything from our emotional well-being to our eggs, so it’s no surprise her fans would flock to a Winfrey-approved treat that claims to help with weight loss. The only problem: She has literally nothing to do with the product.
But that hasn’t stopped her followers from falling victim to advertising that’s falsely using her name to sell weight loss gummies, and the confusion has gotten so bad that Winfrey decided she needed to clear the air with a public message.
“It happened to me again today: A woman came up to me and said, ‘Can you help me get your weight loss gummies?'” Oprah recounted on her Instagram page. “I said, ‘Ma’am, I don’t have anything to do with weight loss gummies. And let me tell you, you’re the fifth person this week to mention it.'”
Oprah explained that the many similar interactions she’d had lately have led her to realize someone out there is using her name in association with this product without her permission, even sending emails to customers who are being misled. But she assured everyone that the connection is totally fictitious.
“I have nothing to do with weight loss gummies or diet pills, and I don’t want you all taken advantage of by people misusing my name,” she said. “So please know: I have no weight loss gummies.”
And while there are, of course, many celebrities who make money by lending their likeness to dubious dieting solutions, it’s unfortunately becoming more and more common that these relationships are faked. In fact, that includes our very own Katie Couric, who commented on Oprah’s post: “Happened to me too. So frustrating.”
One might understand, however, why some fans would believe that Oprah could be associated with a weight loss product like this. She brought viewers along on her own weight loss journey over the 25 years of The Oprah Winfrey Show, including the time in 1988 when she wheeled 67 pounds of fat on stage to illustrate how much she’d lost. (She later came to regret that stunt, which she called “one of the biggest ego trips of my life.”) She’s also been featured in advertisements for Weight Watchers, and she bought a 10 percent stake in the company back in 2015.
Now we can all rest assured that gummies are not part of her dietary repertoire, but if you’re looking for a recommendation that is certifiably O-mazing, tried her deviled eggs recipe.
