Kelly Clarkson has confirmed she has been taking weight loss medication, but denied it is the high profile drug Ozempic.
The American Idol winner – best known for hits including Since U Been Gone, Miss Independent, Stronger and Because Of You – said she started taking the medication on the advice of her doctor.
Speaking on her talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show, the 42-year-old interviewed Sister Act star Whoopi Goldberg and they both discussed their recent weight loss.
After Clarkson told Goldberg, 68, how young she looked, Goldberg replied: “First of all, it’s all the weight I’ve lost. I’ve lost almost two people.
“I am doing that wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help, and it’s been really good for me.”
Clarkson said she too had also lost “a lot” of weight, adding: “Mine is a different one than people assume, but I ended up having to do that too because my bloodwork got so bad.
“I didn’t plan to talk about this but I didn’t see it.”
She added: “My doctor chased me for two years, and I was like, ‘No, I’m afraid of it. I already have thyroid problems.’ Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic, but it’s not. It’s something else.”
Clarkson explained her medication is “something that aids in helping break down the sugar because my body doesn’t do it right”.
She added: “I was never insecure about it (her weight), I was happy. People assume she must have been miserable but I was not.”
Ozempic can only be prescribed for patients with type 2 diabetes and is not licensed as a weight-loss drug in the UK or the US, although the UK government acknowledges: “It is not authorised for weight-loss, but it is used off-label for that purpose.”
A recent study found anti-obesity jabs could reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes or heart failure in obese people regardless of the amount of weight they lose while on the drug.
Oprah Winfrey, Amy Schumer and Chelsea Handler are among the stars who have admitted taking Ozempic or other weight loss drugs.