Oprah's Wild Booze Confession: Talk Show Legend, 71, Admits to Downing '17 Shots in One Night' Before Weight Loss Drugs Made Her Quit Drinking Alcohol
Oprah Winfrey confessed to being able to 'drink' people under the table before going on a GLP-1.
Dec. 30 2025, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
Oprah Winfrey has made a shocking confession about how much alcohol she drank before going on a GLP-1 medication for weight loss, which killed her desire for booze, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
"I was a big fan of tequila. I literally had 17 shots one night," the former daytime talk show queen, 71, said about her favorite liquor and how much she was able to put away before undergoing her significant lifestyle change.
'I Could Outdrink Everyone'
Oprah Winfrey said taking GLP-1 medicaiton killed off her 'desire' for booze.
"I could outdrink everyone at the table," Winfrey said about her tolerance for alcohol in a revealing new interview published on Tuesday, December 30, while promoting her latest book, Enough: Your Health, Your Weight and What It’s Like to Be Free, which she co-authored with obesity expert Dr. Ania M. Jastreboff.
"I haven’t had a drink in years. The fact that I no longer even have a desire for it is pretty amazing," Winfrey added about a welcome effect of taking a GLP-1. "I hardly recognize the woman I've become. But she's a happy woman."
Gayle King Vouched for Oprah Winfrey's Drinking
Oprah Winfrey compared the causes of alcoholism and obesity by noting they come with genetic markers.
Winfrey previously revealed how she was able to drink massive quantities of booze without becoming an alcoholic. She compared the disease to that of obesity, where one can have a genetic propensity to drinking too much or overeating.
"In the late ’80s, early '90s, we were doing a lot of shows about alcoholism, and people were saying then the same thing they're saying now, 'just put the food down,'" The Color Purple star explained during a March 2024 appearance on CNN’s King Charles, featuring former NBA star Charles Barkley and Winfrey's longtime best friend, Gayle King.
"They were saying ‘just put the bottle down’ because nobody understood that for some people, not everybody who drinks, overdrinks becomes an alcoholic, but if you carry the marker or the gene that allows alcoholism to flourish with you, you then develop alcoholism," Winfrey explained.
She then turned to King, telling her, "I can drink you under the table," and the CBS Mornings host revealed about her closest pal, "She’s not lying."
No More Obsessing Over Food
Oprah Windfry is happy with her weight today, although she refuses to give a number.
Winfrey has spoken before about how taking the weight loss medication quieted her mind from constantly thinking about food. She dropped at least 50 pounds after going on the drug two and a half years ago.
"I thought it was about discipline and willpower. But I stopped blaming myself," the Build the Life You Want author explained.
Giving an example, she noted, "I’ve just had a croissant. And I ate the full thing."
Before taking GLP-1 medication, Winfrey revealed how she would have thought about the buttery pastry for the rest of the day, obsessing over it.
"I would have been thinking, 'How many calories in that croissant? How long is it going to take me to work it off? If I have the croissant, I won’t be able to have dinner.' I’d still be thinking about that damn croissant!”
Now, the guilt is gone, as she confessed, "I felt nothing. The only thing I thought was, 'I need to clean up these crumbs.'"
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Oprah Winfrey confessed in December 2023 that she had been taking GLP-1 weight loss medication.
Winfrey first confessed to taking GLP-1 medication in December 2023, after the chatter surrounding her weight loss became too loud to ignore.
"The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for," she raved at the time. "I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself."
