What Celebrities Used Ozempic to Lose Weight: The Rise of a Trend

Last reviewed: June 29, 2026

Last updated: June 29, 2026

Written by: Jay Hastings, CEO of PlexusDx

Jay Hastings is the CEO of PlexusDx, a precision health company focused on genetic testing, blood biomarker insights, and personalized wellness recommendations. He has more than 20 years of experience across healthcare innovation, genomics, laboratory operations, healthcare investing, and strategic finance.

Medically reviewed by: Jayden Lee, PharmD, EMBA

Jayden Lee, PharmD, EMBA, is the PlexusDx Medical Science Liaison with a PharmD and MBA specializing in pharmacogenomics and clinical product development, with a proven ability to bridge the gap between genomic research and practical patient outcomes. Dr. Lee has more than 10 years of professional experience in clinical pharmacy, academia, and research.

There is no verified list of celebrities who used Ozempic, and any article presenting one is repeating tabloid attribution rather than reporting fact. Someone's prescription history is private medical information; it is not disclosed to journalists, it is not in any public record, and a red-carpet photograph is not evidence of a mechanism. What can be verified is everything the trend produced around those rumors — a surge in demand for a diabetes medicine that has never been approved for weight loss, a wave of counterfeit product entering the U.S. supply chain, and a gray market that the FDA has spent three years issuing warnings about. That is the part of this story worth your time.

Why This Article Will Not Name Names

The standard for stating that a specific person took a specific prescription drug is a primary source: that person saying so, or a document. Almost none of the widely circulated claims meet it. What circulates instead is inference — a visible change in someone's appearance, plus a plausible drug, plus a headline.

Repeating those inferences would violate the same evidentiary standard this article applies to everything else. It would also mislead readers about the more useful question, which is not who took it but what it does, who it is approved for, and what happens to people who buy it outside the regulated supply chain.

The Verifiable Starting Point: Ozempic Is Not a Weight-Loss Drug

The Ozempic prescribing information lists three indications, all in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: improving glycemic control as an adjunct to diet and exercise; reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with established cardiovascular disease; and reducing the risk of sustained eGFR decline, end-stage kidney disease and cardiovascular death in adults with chronic kidney disease.

The semaglutide product approved for chronic weight management is Wegovy, studied in a separate trial program under separate labeling. So the trend attached the wrong brand name to the outcome people wanted. That mismatch is not trivia — it is the reason the demand landed on a diabetes supply chain and the reason so much of what followed happened outside approved channels.

What the Demand Surge Actually Produced: Counterfeits

In December 2023 the FDA warned consumers not to use counterfeit Ozempic found in the U.S. drug supply chain, after thousands of units bearing lot number NAR0074 and serial number 430834149057 were seized. The agency's testing found that the needles from the samples were counterfeit, meaning "the sterility of the needles cannot be confirmed, which presents an increased risk of infection."

That was not an isolated event. The agency issued a further warning in April 2025 covering counterfeit units with lot number PAR0362 and serial numbers beginning 51746517, stating at the time that it did not yet have information about the identity, quality or safety of the seized products. In December 2025 it warned about counterfeit product bearing lot number PAR1229, distinguishable from authentic pens by the placement of the EXP/LOT text on the carton. Counterfeiting on this scale follows demand, and the demand was driven by exactly the coverage this article is about.

The Online Gray Market

The second consequence was a market in unapproved semaglutide sold direct to consumers. The FDA has laid out its concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs in detail: products may be counterfeit, "could contain the wrong ingredients or harmful ingredients," or contain too much or too little active drug. Products labeled "for research purposes only" are, in the agency's description, "sold directly to consumers for human use." And salt forms such as semaglutide sodium and semaglutide acetate "are different active ingredients than are used in the approved drugs."

The agency has issued warning letters to online sellers of these products, including several in September 2025. It has also reported adverse events, some requiring hospitalization, that may relate to dosing errors with compounded injectable semaglutide, involving both patients self-administering and health care professionals miscalculating doses. As of May 31, 2026 the FDA had received 990 adverse event reports associated with compounded semaglutide.

What the Trials Actually Show

Strip away the celebrity framing and the underlying pharmacology is genuinely substantial. In STEP 1, a 68-week trial of once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg in adults with obesity or overweight without diabetes, mean weight change was −14.9% versus −2.4% with placebo. In the 104-week STEP 5 trial, mean weight change at two years was −15.2% versus −2.6%. In SELECT, 17,604 adults with preexisting cardiovascular disease and a body mass index of 27 or greater but without diabetes were randomized to semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo; a primary cardiovascular endpoint event occurred in 6.5% versus 8.0%, a hazard ratio of 0.80, over a mean follow-up of 39.8 months.

Those are large, blinded, placebo-controlled trials with pre-registered endpoints. They are also the reason the drug became famous — and the reason the famous version of the story, which skips the trials and goes straight to the before-and-after photographs, is the less interesting one.

The Part the Trend Coverage Leaves Out

Discontinuation was studied, and the results rarely make headlines. The STEP 1 trial extension followed 327 participants for a year after treatment and the lifestyle intervention were withdrawn at week 68. Mean weight loss at week 68 had been 17.3%; by week 120 participants had regained 11.6 percentage points of it, leaving a net 5.6% below baseline, with most cardiometabolic improvements reverting toward baseline.

The investigators concluded that the findings "confirm the chronicity of obesity and suggest ongoing treatment is required to maintain improvements in weight and health." A trend implies something you join and later leave. Chronic-disease treatment does not work that way, and the gap between those two framings explains a great deal of the disappointment that follows a short course of an unsupervised product bought online.

Buying the Trend Versus Being Treated

The practical difference is whether there is a licensed prescriber in the loop. A prescription follows an evaluation — diagnoses, other medications, contraindications, warnings — and it is filled at a state-licensed pharmacy, which is exactly what the FDA advises consumers to do. A product ordered from a website with no evaluation has none of that, and no recourse when what arrives is not what was pictured.

Compounded semaglutide, prepared by a licensed pharmacy pursuant to a prescription for an individual patient, is a distinct category from both approved products and internet vials. It is not an FDA-approved finished product, it is not a generic version of any approved brand, and it is not something to obtain without a prescriber who knows your history.

How Your Genetics Relate to GLP-1 Pathways

Not everyone responds to GLP-1 medications the same way. Genetic variants — including GIPR rs1800437, FTO rs9939609, and MC4R rs17782313 — relate to the biological pathways these medications act on. These are pathway-level associations only and do not predict how much weight you will lose or how you will respond to any specific medication. PlexusDx maps 14 pathways, 49 peptides, and 150+ genetic insights so you and your provider can see how your genes relate to these pathways. It does not recommend, prescribe, or determine which medication, dose, or peptide is right for you. The PlexusDx Precision Peptide Genetic Test ($298) gives you and your provider pathway-level genetic context to support a more personalized conversation. Genetics is a guide, not a guarantee.

Access Personalized GLP-1 Care Through PlexusDx

PlexusDx offers seven prescription GLP-1 protocols to all 50 states — no membership, no insurance required, async intake or live consult. Semaglutide Injection is $189/mo month-to-month, or from $149/mo on the 6-month plan. Medications are dispensed from licensed 503A compounding pharmacies following strict quality and safety standards. Add a Precision Peptide Genetic Test ($298) to personalize your protocol from day one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which celebrities used Ozempic to lose weight?

There is no verified list, and this article will not repeat one. Prescription histories are private medical information that is not disclosed publicly or held in any public record, so almost every widely circulated claim rests on inference from photographs rather than a primary source. What is verifiable is the regulatory status of the medicine, the counterfeit and gray-market activity the trend produced, and what the published trials measured.

Is Ozempic approved for weight loss?

No. The Ozempic label carries three indications, all in adults with type 2 diabetes: improving glycemic control, reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in those with established cardiovascular disease, and reducing cardiorenal risk in those with chronic kidney disease. Wegovy is the semaglutide product approved for reducing excess body weight and maintaining weight reduction long term.

Has counterfeit Ozempic really been found in the U.S.?

Yes, repeatedly. In December 2023 the FDA warned consumers after thousands of counterfeit units bearing lot NAR0074 were seized, and testing found the needles were counterfeit, so their sterility could not be confirmed. The agency issued further counterfeit warnings in April 2025 for lot PAR0362 and in December 2025 for lot PAR1229, which is distinguishable by the placement of the EXP/LOT text.

What does the FDA say about buying semaglutide online?

The agency advises obtaining a prescription from a doctor and filling it at a state-licensed pharmacy. It warns that unapproved GLP-1 products may be counterfeit, may contain the wrong or harmful ingredients or incorrect amounts of drug, and that items labeled for research purposes only are in practice sold directly to consumers for human use. It also flags semaglutide salt forms as different active ingredients from those in approved drugs.

What happens when people stop taking semaglutide?

The STEP 1 trial extension followed 327 participants for a year after treatment and the lifestyle intervention were withdrawn at week 68. Mean weight loss had been 17.3%; by week 120 participants had regained 11.6 percentage points of it, for a net 5.6% below baseline, with most cardiometabolic improvements reverting toward baseline. The investigators concluded that ongoing treatment appears necessary to maintain those improvements.

Medical and Editorial Standards

Medical review process: This article was reviewed for medical accuracy, scientific clarity, evidence alignment, and appropriate discussion of genetics, medications, supplements, biomarkers, and health-related claims.

Sources and evidence: PlexusDx educational content is developed using peer-reviewed research, clinical literature, reputable medical references, and, where applicable, public health or regulatory guidance.

Commercial transparency: PlexusDx offers genetic testing, blood biomarker testing, personalized supplement recommendations, and related precision wellness services. Product mentions are intended to help readers understand available options and should not be interpreted as medical advice.

Important disclaimer: PlexusDx educational content is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about medications, supplements, genetic testing, lab testing, or health-related care.