Oprah-backed WeightWatchers Faces Backlash Over Influencer Campaign Pushing Ozempic
Oprah Winfrey-backed WeightWatchers is facing backlash over its new Ozempic program.
Feb. 26 2024, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Oprah Winfrey-backed WeightWatchers facesmajor backlash online over an influencer campaign to promote the brand's latest program based around weight loss injection drugs, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Social media influencers claim WeightWatchers offered to pay them to promote the GLP-1 Program to followers despite never having tried the product.
Oprah has long been a supporter of WeightWatchers and is a board member.
WeightWatchers kicked off their new program with the GLP-1 hype house and invited influencers to a glitzy Los Angeles mansion to back protein snacks, take selfies with oversized injector pen props, and gush about how Ozempic changed their lives.
The campaign allegedly seeks to "help bust the misconceptions and stigma around GLP-1 medications" and "share that WW is here to support you," according to a WeightWatchers email that was reviewed by Bloomberg News.
WeightWatchers launched its new GLP-1 program pushing weight loss injection drugs.
Unfortunately for the weight loss company, the campaign has been overshadow by backlash online.
Months before the campaign launched, plus-sized influencers allegedly targeted by the company as potential participants condemned the program for pushing weight loss injections.
Jennifer Witherspoon, who has 90,000 followers on TikTok, explained, "Sometimes it’s painful just to hear their name brought up. They have left a lot of trauma, especially in our community."
Influencers promoted the program at WeightWatchers' GLP-1 House in Los Angeles.
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Further scrutiny has been raised over the ethics of the new WeightWatchers GLP-1 program. Alexis Clingenpeel, who shares her journey taking Mounjaro on TikTok, claimed the company "basically asked me to lie" to followers.
Clingenpeel claimed WeightWatchers offered her $750 per post to talk about "the GLP-1 Program."
"They asked me to promote a product I’d never tried," the content creator explained. "They basically asked me to lie."
Influencers shared themselves making protein-packed snacks and gushed over injection drugs.
The contract reportedly included a noncompete clause, prohibiting creators who signed up to promote the GLP-1 program from working with other weight loss companies like Calibrate and Noom.
Influencers were not allowed to participate in nutrition programs like the Keto Diet or Whole30 for a week before and after their contract dates, as well as be featured on weight loss competition shows like The Biggest Loser.
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Despite ignoring the first offer, WeightWatchers continued to reach out to Clingenpeel to entice her to join their efforts. The company increased their original per post offer to $1,200, which she declined.
Influencers branded WeightWatchers "out of touch" and mocked its campaign in parody videos. WeightWatchers backlash follows criticism of Hollywood A-listers who have dropped significant weight and been accused of using injection drugs to do so.
The latest Hollywood diet craze has been condemned for leading to a shortage of the medication that's heavily relied on by diabetics, many of whom have been unable to fill their prescriptions.
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