Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | August 22, 2025
In an exclusive story for People, Serena Williams 'opened up' about how she lost 31 pounds by using weight loss medication. She discussed using GLP-1 to aid her journey after the birth of her children. "It was crazy because I'd never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at," she said. So, she decided to start weekly injections in early 2024 and now feels better than ever.
Okay, so this is perfectly fine. It's good, even, right? Here's a major celebrity, one known for her fitness, being open about using a medication that is still seen as either a shortcut or easy way out. She's being honest, unlike a hell of a lot of people in the public eye who suddenly dropped massive amounts of weight, then claimed it was all down to hiking or whatever. This kind of candour is something we desire, surely? Well, that'd be the case if this weren't also just a big old piece of sponcon.
Yup, Williams is using this 'emotional exclusive story' with People to announce a partnership with the healthcare company Ro. She's their latest celebrity ambassador, complete with paparazzi walks wearing their merch (yes, a healthcare company has merch, because late-stage capitalism isn't terrifying enough.) Check out their website for lots of glamorous photos of Williams being a Ro model, and help on how you can check if your insurance company will provide the medication. Thanks, Serena!
Not gonna lie, I find stuff like this to be both depressing and sinister. Everything is for sale. It's all a hustle. Get your Ozempic merch. One of the greatest athletes of our generation is selling empowerment through a medical corporation.
This reminds me of Meghan Trainor doing a breast augmentation sponcon earlier this year. It was yet another way to turn 'being honest with my fans' into an opportunity to make money. It's the falsehood of self-improvement and confidence through shoddy girlboss 'make your own choices' negging. The importance of medical privacy becomes a platform for profit (alas, the inevitable endgame of the American healthcare system.) It becomes tough to separate the crucialness of personal and medical independence from the greed and obfuscation of advertising. I just don't see how celebrities doing adverts and investments in for-profit medication makes it less of a stigma or more accessible for average people to get something they may sorely need. Isn't the point of celebrity marketing to make something so wildly popular that it, by design, becomes harder to get? We love you, Serena, but you're not doing this for altruistic reasons. Your 'self-confidence' relies on other people's struggles.
