After beating eating disorder, Jameela Jamil would rather take drastic measures than be pulled into ‘Ozempic heroin chic’ craze

Actress Jameela Jamil has made no secret of her opinions regarding the entertainment industry’s treatment and framing of female bodies. After taking on diet culture, photoshop, and airbrushing, the She-Hulk star is calling out her peers for indulging in Ozempic treatments for weight loss and considering drastic measures to protect herself from the latest trend.

The word of 2024 for the Oxford University Press was “brain rot.” Collins Dictionary elected “brat,” Cambridge Dictionary went for “manifest,” and Dictionary.com opted for “demure.” Well, we think “Ozempic” should have gotten the honors.

Understanding the appetite suppressant drug

Though the craze for the weight loss drug first began in 2022, it truly took off in 2023 and 2024 as more and more celebrities exhibited rapid and drastic changes in their appearances, influencing the general public to seek it out, too.

Ozempic, and its active ingredient Semaglutide, was first commercialized as a treatment for diabetes by reducing blood sugar levels, but thanks to its abilities to promote satiation, it was also found to help patients suffering from obesity. In 2021, Wegovy, a new drug specifically prescribed for weight loss containing a higher dose of Semaglutide, hit the market.

In recent years, however, the medication has been appropriated by people without weight-specific complications to, in Jamil’s words, go from “slim to super skinny.” According to the New York Times, Ozempic and Wegovy are being used “off-label” “for a different purpose from what the medication is explicitly intended for.” A 2022 report from Variety called the drug Hollywood’s “worst kept secret,” being championed by “moguls, reality starlets, veteran film producers and, of course, actors.”

Marvel star says she will quit to distance herself from recent fad

Jamil, 38, who has been open about her battle against anorexia as a teen, is particularly concerned about the epidemic, which has exposed just how empty the industry’s promises of “body positivity” were all along. She would even consider dropping her career in the entertainment industry than “get dragged back,” she admitted in an Instagram post shared right after the holidays.

“May I have the strength through this era of Ozempic heroin chic … to keep up this good work I did on my brain throughout 2025,” she continued. In the carousel was also a photo of the Good Place star at the “height of [her] anorexia … pretending to be happy.”

Jamil has used her experiences with body image to fuel her activism against unrealistic standards and false depictions of female bodies in media. “The amount of people in my industry just taking [Ozempic] to finally achieve the obedient waif physique to fit the obedient sample sizes… Has been hard to watch,” the artist confessed, adding, “Especially for those of us who have fought off eating disorders.”

But can taking Ozempic make you sick?

Though the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to seriously ill users, the side effects of Ozempic consumption include gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea and constipation, as well as “dizziness, fatigue, headache, nausea and vomiting,” according to UK Healthcare. Semaglutide can also cause “low blood sugar, inflammation of the pancreas, gallbladder problems,” or worsen conditions such as “gastroparesis, retinopathy, medullary thyroid carcinoma and multiple endocrine neoplasia.”

UK Healthcare further notes that patients who stopped taking weekly injections of the appetite suppressant drug regained two thirds of their weight, which means that its success is directly dependent on regular, basically perpetual treatment. It should be readily apparent why using medication that is prescribed for conditions you do not have for the rest of your life isn’t exactly the healthiest way to go about losing weight.

As Jamil points out, and we just have to agree, “Curves will come back. They always do … I’m not playing with my brain, my heart, my bone density, or my metabolism for a trend. You can’t be left behind in a LOOP.” Is saying “Preach!” too 2013? Well, call me a Zillennial because that’s exactly what I’m thinking.