Hollywood Weight Loss Drug Use Sparks 'Ozempic Face' Concerns and Rising Scams
Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are creating visible facial changes in celebrities while scams targeting consumers surge nationwide. Multiple public figures have disclosed using GLP-1 medications, with some experiencing significant side effects.
The widespread use of weight-loss medications including Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, and Mounjaro has created a phenomenon known as "Ozempic face" among celebrities, characterized by hollowed-out appearance, saggy skin, sunken eyes, looser skin around the jawline, more pronounced wrinkles, thinner lips, and gaunt cheeks. The pronounced effects occur because the weight loss is so rapid that skin doesn't have time to adapt to less subcutaneous fat.
Amy Schumer disclosed in a 2022 interview that she started by getting liposuction before taking Wegovy, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, and lost 30 pounds. In June 2023, Schumer said that she was so nauseous she couldn't get out of bed and couldn't play with her son. Schumer then switched to Mounjaro, a dual-agonist medication, and continued to shed weight, ultimately losing 50 pounds. Schumer's 50-pound weight loss coincided with her divorce from husband Chris Fischer after seven years of marriage.
Tennis professional Serena Williams became a brand ambassador for Ro, a company that provides access to weight-loss medications, in August 2025. Williams said she was struggling to lose her baby weight and never was able to get to the weight she needed to be no matter what she did or how much she trained. After her daughter, Adira River, stopped breastfeeding, Williams began taking GLP-1s and lost 34 pounds in a year. Williams claimed the medication made her feel healthier. Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, is an investor in Ro and sits on the board.
Ariana Grande's face transformation has attracted interest, with many pointing out hallmark signs including hollowed cheeks and sunken eyes. In a January 2020 picture, Grande had a visibly plumper face compared to November 2025, with temples looking sunken and cheekbones considerably more prominent. "There's suspicion here about using medical weight loss or semaglutide or tirzepatide," medical business consultant Sam Patel said in an Instagram video.
Grande previously defended her weight loss in an April 2023 video, stating that the rounder figure of her past reflected a lifestyle she wasn't proud of. "The body that you've been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body," Grande said, noting that she had gained weight from poor habits. "I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly, and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider 'my healthy.'"
As demand for blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy surges nationwide, scams targeting people desperate to get the medications at a discount have also increased.