For decades, Oprah Winfrey was the face of Weight Watchers – and also sat on the board. Then she discovered the weight loss syringe. This now has painful consequences for the company.
Her word carries weight: Oprah Winfrey has been considered one of the most influential women in the world for years. The fact that she struggled with her weight at the same time made her the perfect figurehead for the weight loss company Weight Watchers. Now she has announced her end on the company’s supervisory board and the sale of her own shares. And sent the stock plummeting.
Winfrey explained the move by wanting to resolve her personal conflict of interest. The TV personality, who has been on the Weight Watchers board since 2015, admitted in October that she was “keeping her weight under control” with weight loss injections. “It feels like a gift,” she told People at the time. Already in the interview she directly contradicted the principles of Weight Watchers. “Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower,” she said with conviction. Even Weight Watchers boss Sima Sistani supported this statement in interviews.
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Oprah Winfrey and Weight Watchers: End of a Reboot
The decision not to stand for re-election as a supervisory board member in May is actually not surprising given these statements. Winfrey’s announcement that she wanted to sell her 1.4 percent of the company’s shares and donate the proceeds still had a devastating effect on the stock market: the price crashed by more than 27 percent within a few hours of the announcement.
The decision also has such an impact because Winfrey was seen as the savior of the ailing company. When she joined the board in 2015, Weight Watchers was nearing its end. The influential presenter was the perfect figurehead thanks to her public battle with obesity: the value of the company increased sevenfold within a few years, and Winfrey herself made stock profits of more than $500 million. But since the beginning of the pandemic and the advent of weight loss injections, the price has continued to fall. Now it is even below the 2015 value.
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Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
