Last year, Serena Williams revealed that she started taking a GLP-1 soon after giving birth to her second daughter. Not only that, but Serena became a celebrity ambassador for Ro, and her husband invested in the company and he’s on the board. There was significant backlash to Serena’s big announcement. Some of the backlash was thoughtful and more about the ethics of a celebrity ambassador for a weight-loss shot. Much of the backlash was just… thin white women gatekeeping thinness and patronizingly telling Serena that she just should have worked harder and/or accepted her larger body. All of which to say, I really don’t know what celebrities should say about their GLP usage at this point, and I’m certain they’ll get backlash no matter what. So, Chrissy Metz has just announced that she’s trying a GLP-1 – she’s now on Ro, the same brand used by Serena. Chrissy spoke about all of this with People Magazine.
Chrissy Metz is opening up about finally trying a GLP-1. The actress, known for her roles in This Is Us and The Hunting Wives, who is working in partnership with Ro, says that after years of trying diets that didn’t work, “I just wanted to take care of myself.”
“I’m not getting any younger,” Metz, 45, tells PEOPLE. “I’m in perimenopause, and there were obesity issues within my family and with my father, and I felt like I’ve tried so many modalities, whether it was diets or therapy, and none of it really worked for me.”
Metz admits she was skeptical about GLP-1s for years, assuming they wouldn’t work for her or would give her horrible side effects, but so far, she’s been having a positive experience.
“It’s been great!” she says. “I’ve enjoyed the benefits that I didn’t think that would come, because I was very skeptical. I was like, ‘I’m not taking this medication. I don’t wanna do this. It’s not gonna work for me.’ You know, all the things. But when I realized food noise was really a thing, that consumed a lot of my head space, I was like, ‘Oh.’ ”
She continues, “It’s so nice not to be obsessing about what I’m going to have every minute, even as I’m still consuming the meal. I just vilified food for so long because I was taught that it was bad, and you shouldn’t eat this or that. And it’s been helping me be more mobile and have less joint pain and inflammation, and run around onstage [Metz is currently in Broadway’s & Juliet], and just do things that would have been much more difficult several pounds and inches ago.”
While Metz prefers to be an “open book” and honest about her GLP-1 experience, she knows people are going to have thoughts.
“Listen, when it comes to me, everybody is judgy,” she says with a laugh. “It doesn’t matter what I do. Before, people were like ‘Why isn’t she on a GLP-1?’ and now they’re going to know I’m on it and be like, ‘Why is she on a GLP-1?’ ”
She says she learned to tune out her critics years ago. “It doesn’t matter, because like I always say, they’re not in my life. They’re not in my doctor’s notes. They’re not in the hereditary issues my family has. My life is my life, and I have to do what’s best for me, and that includes not listening to the comments and just talking to people who are positive and kind. I can’t engage with something that doesn’t make me feel good.”
Metz says she’s also been loving working with Ro, the direct-to-patient digital health company that provides GLP-1s. “It was the perfect partnership because yes, I’m an actress but I’m also a very normal girl,” she says of enjoying the ease of the app. “The fact that the medication comes to your door was very exciting for me, and the care team and doctors really check in with you. Like, you know how hard it is to get a doctor on the phone! Just being able to talk to your provider and have open conversations about any side effects is so nice. Because people are scared to try something new, or they really, really want it to work, and there are just a lot of questions. But you have to do what’s best for you.”
Methinks that she’s now a Ro ambassador too. Good for her if that’s the case, I hope she IS getting paid. There hasn’t been a ton of work for her since This Is Us ended in 2022, and all of the thin actresses have paying side-hustles, why not Chrissy? I genuinely feel bad for her though, because she’s absolutely right about people policing her body for years. That’s the thing about being overweight – you’re either invisible, or people think your body is a subject for public discussion. I’m glad she’s already having success on Ro. I remember when Oprah went on a GLP and she talked a lot about “food noise” and how the drug basically does a factory reset on that part of your brain.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- SANTA MONICA, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – JULY 16: American actress and singer Chrissy Metz arrives at the Lifetime Summer Soiree Event 2025 Featuring The Stars From The Network’s Summer Movie Lineup held at the Calabra Rooftop at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel on July 16, 2025 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1022816475, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Pictured: Chrissy Metz , Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- Chrissy Metz attends the 30th Annual Movieguide Awards at Avalon in Hollywood, California on February 10, 2023,Image: 755299173, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Pictured: Chrissy Metz , Credit line: /JPI Studios/Avalon
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- SANTA MONICA, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – JULY 16: American actress and singer Chrissy Metz arrives at the Lifetime Summer Soiree Event 2025 Featuring The Stars From The Network’s Summer Movie Lineup held at the Calabra Rooftop at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel on July 16, 2025 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1022816354, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Pictured: Chrissy Metz , Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
So this drug does factory reset on the brain. My sister was 220lbs 1 year ago and is now 118. She never went above 3.0 on tirzepatide. The starting dose is 2.5. She has BED and still does when she is stressed. However during an attempt to titrate down, her mood crashed. Her GI system is a mess. Like Chrissy she needed to lose weight. But wow what serious trade offs. This issue is so complicated.
Food noise IS real. As someone who’d been on *every*single* weight loss pitch, from WW (at 8!!), to the Water Diet, Grapefruit Diet, 500 cal/day (UCLA) diet, to Phen Fen, (lost 100, regained 120 back when they took it off the market), to EDs,,, I could go on and on. I was 340 at my heaviest, almost 30 yrs ago, as a young woman.
Then came a semi-salvation option for me: Gastric Bypass (when it was first out). I lost 140 lbs and stalled. I stabilized, but couldn’t lose more. Then I became ill, and lost 35 when I got out of the hospital after chemo (leukemia), stabilized again for years.
Then came COVID, and with nothing to do, but eat and drink, (I was the only caretaker for my frail, non-mobile dad, so I couldn’t go out for fear of bringing it in), I ate and drank. And ate and drank till I gained 20 lbs. I was TERRIFIED I was going to go back to the way I was.
I called my Dr for help, and he put me on Ozempic; it was off label back in 2022 for weight loss, but it was a MIRACLE. I no longer thought about what was I going to be eating again every second of the day. I had no desire to drink 3 glasses of wine every day. My noise/appetite was quieted, and I started loosing the weight. After I lost the 20 lbs, I asked the Dr if I could stay on it, as I was still overweight (5’1, 150 lbs). He said he’d monitor me monthly, and man, oh man, was it my Holy Grail! It took away cravings for sweets, to feel the need to eat “just because it tasted good”, and I could say, “I had enough” and STOP EATING at that point. Seriously, a miracle for me.
It took about 6 mos or so to lose the last 50 lbs and I’m proud to say, I’ve kept it off since (I vary only a few lbs up or down). It’s allowed me to make *healthy* choices, as I no longer have those noisy “urges* to eat or drink whatever is shown in a commercial or show lol. I still enjoy desserts, but now I don’t feel the need to consume a full bag or portion, when a few bites is “enough”.
It is hard to explain truly to someone who hasn’t had issues like this, that cause these extreme weight issues. But the noise IS real, and these drugs are just as much a Godsend to us, as a by pass to a coronary patient with failing, blocked valves, or cholesterol drugs are to someone with clogged arteries.
Yeah…I am a full supporter of GLP-1s and I think it’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what these drugs can treat (alcoholism, EDs, protecting vital organs etc) but I also think they’re SO new and we really need more long term tests to understand the potential risk factors. Both things can be true. We’re also learning of patients dealing with muscle mass loss, malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies etc so it’s clear that they need to be paired with a nutrient-rich diet and regular exercise to have the most positive, holistic effect.
I still think they’re a net positive for our society though.
Thing is, they’re NOT new drugs. For weight loss, sure. But they’ve been around a long time for diabetes. They’re just *now* finding out how they are helping other problems.
Yes very specifically they’ve been studied in obese people and/or diabetics for about 20 years. The issues for me is that they’re being promoted for off-label uses like longevity, lifestyle, and anti-aging purposes. There have been no long-term clinical studies for that and I see GLP-1s marketed to people for these specific objectives, being sold through various telehealth sites. As the widespread fervor for these drugs continues, I think more studies are necessary for all the different indications they’re being prescribed.
I think we should all want that TBH.
I support them as a medical net positive, too. I definitely think it needs to be a case by case basis for people with ongoing dialogue with their doctor, though, since there are some significant side effects for many people. My one doctor considered putting me on it, until I pointed out that a.) I had some chronic conditions that did not avail itself to that type of therapy (GI disorder, thyroid disease), b.) some of the weight I’d gained that had tipped me into morbid obesity was because of limited mobility after two surgeries and chances are I’d drop that (and did) within a year. I’d love to lose the rest I gained after getting thyroid disease, but I’m going to hold off and try it the old fashioned way for a bit longer. This isn’t a quick and easy fix, after all. Patients still have to permanently change their diets and exercise habits even when they’re on them.
The GLP-1s definitely reset your brain. I have been on either Wegovy or Zepbound for two years. I needed to lose 75 lbs. Tried for 40 YEARS pretty much everything to lose the weight. Food was on my mind 24/7 either wanting to eat or calculating calories/protein. The food noise never stopped. Just before going on the meds, I managed to lose 25 pounds, and then was stuck and could not go lower. And it was an immense effort to keep that 25 lbs off. I was also putting 5 lbs back on and then panicking and having to regroup and go back to a super strict diet. Literally I would count the number of almonds I put on cereal at breakfast. God forbid I miscounted and added 15 instead of 12!!! I just could not go on living like that. It was either give in to to food noise or try the GLP-1s. I marshalled my arguments and went to the doc expecting push back, but she said sure right away, and that a number of her patients had great success and none had any severe side effects. Neither did I, BTW. PLEASE don’t titrate off, you will put the weight back on. Obesity is a chronic disease like diabetes or high blood pressure. Stay on the meds, they are meant to be life long chronic disease managers. They have ancillary good effects on heart, kidney, and osteoarthritis. And possibly increase longevity. If you can afford them, and if you have no side effects, why would you not stay on them? IMO tirzepatide/Zepbound is better than semaglutide/Wegovy. I have switched between them sole because of cost. At present in Canada, Zepbound at my dose is about the same price as Wegovy, so I am back to the Zepbound.
I highly recommend the book “Enough” written by the Yale MD who ran the clinical trials on GLP1s. It’s “co-written” by Oprah, but don’t let that put you off. It’s more that Oprah is a case study in the book. The author talks about how obesity is a disease, and the food noise (which MDs didn’t even know was a thing until the GLP1 trials for weight loss) is your dysfunctional brain thinking you are starving because and don’t have enough body fat to survive, even though you do. It’s a strong survival mechanism that is being triggered to force you to eat, and no one can white knuckle it through. It’s like trying to hold your breath forever. And at the same time, because the brain thinks you’re starving, it’s triggering your body to become more efficient…to not burn any calories, to store everything. It is a disease. She has a great quote: people don’t have obesity because they eat too much. They eat too much because they have obesity (their brain is literally, frantically driving them to eat because it thinks they are starving).
I loved her in Bank of Dave 2. Sadly bigger people aren’t meant to be attractive or have relationships. Sucks. Might need a rewatch.
I don’t like that people feel very comfortable making this category of meds a part of public scrutiny. You don’t see people arguing that someone shouldn’t be on meds for high blood pressure or bone loss or high cholesterol or heart valve issues. Patients taking those taking GLPs are often replacing multiple such meds for one shot. It’s a trade off that many are willing to make. But because it also brings weight loss, the med becomes about “taking the easy way” or some such nonsense.
I hate when people think it is the “easy way” – I lost 50 lbs over 2 years under the supervision of an endocrinologist and it was f’ing hard work. I exercised, prioritized protein, ate the right foods to not trigger side effects and maintained sufficient calories to make sure I didn’t under eat. As I result I lost slow and steady – this medication is life changing.
She’s beautiful and always comes across damn nice and normal. I think many issues like obesity and EDS etc are due to genetic propensity. I want her to be around for a long time and I am grateful this could make her healthier.
Preach! I lost 50 pounds in a year on Zepbound. The side effects were minimal and it got my blood pressure into a healthy range (one fewer drug I needed) and I swear to you it stopped my hot flashes/night sweats.
The major downside (this is a PSA now) is that when I went off I started regaining weight quickly even though I was maintaining a healthy diet/exercise routine. So when the Wegovy pill hit the market I started on that and will probably take it forever.
We’ve had a few morbidly obese patients at my medical facility go on and them and make a DRAMATIC improvement over a few years. They aren’t model thin at the end of it, but many of them were able to get off certain medications like blood pressure, Type II diabetes, cholesterol meds, etc. Whether we like it or not, there is a class of people who benefit significantly from rapid weight loss, and this is far less intrusive than a bypass surgery in many cases.
My concern for these drugs is the long term side effects. Years from now as with many drugs you could read about the danger and potential cause/effect they will trigger in your body. I wish this woman well.
They’ve been around for decades and longterm effects have been studied. So far, it seems like the longterm effects are reduced cholesterol, lower A1C, reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, and many other fatal conditions.
I was going to say the same thing. These drugs used for decades. Many people taking these drugs no longer take their blood pressure meds, statins for cholesterol, insulin and other drugs. Research has started to show that the food noise that’s eliminated is also helping many people using these drugs to reduce alcohol consumption or eliminate it by people who are abusing it.
This!!!! This is such a well studied drug and benefits such as heart have been shown from taking even without weight loss.
For those of you who have never had to deal with food noise, you just don’t understand the constant struggle of what so many of us go through. Yes, it is often portrayed salaciously in news and there is a lot of abuse, but if done properly with doctor supervision it is life changing.
They’ve been prescribed for two decades or so, and have been studied since the 70s.
In the almost half century that they’ve been studied, they’ve proven themselves to be safe and effective.
One thing that people ignore or is that taking any drug at all may involve risk, but not taking a drug for a known condition can carry much higher risk.
Obesity, high blood sugar, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, liver disease, dementia, kidney disease, stroke, an increased risk of cancers, etc., are all dangerous, if not deadly.
I decided to taken them due to several of the risk factors listed above. Apart from dementia, which is hard to judge as far as risk, everything has resolved itself.
GLP-1s are probably not for everyone, but they’re lifesavers for many.
She’s obviously thought about this a lot and has made her decision. I’ve done the same but so far I’m not interested mainly because of some of the potential side effects. Also GLP-1s are no magic pill, you still have to do the work. Weight loss is so much more than cutting back and exercising. I wish her and anyone the best.
Of course she is working! Currently on Broadway.
It mentions above that Metz is currently appearing in Broadway’s ‘&Juliet’. She is working but not as often as her co stars from This is Us. Look at Tracker/Justin Hartley and Paradise/Sterling K. Brown.
I don’t know what the percentages of success stories versus people that are disappointed on them – – someone in my family has been with Zepbound for five months and actually gained weight.
Best wishes to her. Brave woman. Brava. Do you, girl.
I was briefly on Wegovy, and it was amazing, completely quieted the food noise, and alleviated some of my lifelong depression. Then there was a shortage, then my insurance decided they didn’t want to cover it anymore, despite nothing else changing and me responding to it extremely well. I also had VERY intense depression after withdrawal (openly sobbing uncontrollably in work meeting level) that lasted months, my crappy doctor said that “wasn’t a thing” but it’s since been documented in others. Some, many, of us cannot afford $1k+ a month out of pocket for these drugs, and there are huge downsides (in addition to those of being obese) to not being able to take them consistently and reliably.
I am 65, and have been on Wegovy for 2 years. I started at 240 lbs, and I’m down to 160. However, I’m at a crossroads because Medicare doesn’t cover it for me. My doctor mentioned switching to Zepbound, but I would be paying out of pocket. I’ve been researching the various online providers (TrimRX, Ro, Trinity, EM, the list is endless.) But, there doesn’t seem to be an actual pricing roadmap available…you’re told the introductory price, but not the actual out of pocket month on month. I’ve gotta figure something out.
Look for the compounded tirzepitide reddit. It lists trusted telehealth places (no subscription costs) and prices. Also if you are on medicare, they have a bridge program now that makes getting brand name Zepbound really cheaply (like 50$ cheapest price you can get).
It definitely got rid of the food noise for me but I couldn’t handle the side effects and I never went above the lowest dose! worked wonders for other people I know though.