'Beyond Hypocritical': CNN Boss Chris Licht's 50-pound Weight Loss Aided by Ozempic, Insiders Claim
June 6 2023, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
CNN boss Chris Licht’s 50-pound weight loss was allegedly the result of Ozempic, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In the latest development to come after the Atlantic published a 15,000-word profile on Licht on Friday, sources close to the 55-year-old network CEO refuted Licht’s claims that he lost a whopping 50 pounds via “a strict diet and exercise regimen.”
According to insiders familiar with the matter, Licht’s weight transformation was actually the result of the weight loss drug Ozempic – a drug created to treat Type 2 diabetes but has since been used throughout Hollywood because it suppresses users’ appetites.
“He was the first person I ever heard the word Ozempic from — this is 2021,” one source close to Licht said this week.
“I heard about Ozempic from Chris,” added another insider, according to Daily Mail. “When he was at [The Late Show with Stephen Colbert] he explained that he was a huge fan of it and he’d been using it to get his weight under control. This was back in 2021.”
But other sources were reportedly “floored” to read about Licht’s weight transformation in last week’s Atlantic profile because the CNN honcho “was leaving out the real secret to losing all his weight: Ozempic.”
Licht also came under fire for criticizing the weight of his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, in the 15,000-word profile because Licht himself allegedly lied to the outlet about how he really lost 50 pounds.
“This was just so offensive,” one insider said before adding that Licht’s dig at Zucker “was beyond hypocritical as [Licht] lost all of his weight on Ozempic.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the Atlantic’s 15,000-word profile on Licht also reportedly caused problems for the CNN CEO back at the struggling news network.
After the piece was published on Friday, network staffers indicated that Licht’s time with CNN was “done” and “over.”
Licht ultimately held an editorial meeting on Monday morning in which he apologized for the Atlantic piece, but he also reportedly signaled that he has no plans to leave his role at the already struggling news network.
"I know these past few days have been very hard for this group,” Licht reportedly said during the meeting, according to former CNN anchor Brian Stelter. “I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it overshadowed the incredible week of reporting that we just had, and distracted from the work of every single journalist in this org. And for that, I am sorry."
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"As I read that article, I found myself thinking, CNN is not about me," Licht continued. "I should not be in the news unless it's taking arrows for you. Your work is what should be written about."
"To those whose trust I've lost, I will fight like hell to win it back,” he concluded, “because you deserve a leader who will be in the trenches, fighting to ensure CNN remains the world's most trusted name in news."
