IT is the diet craze that has consumed Hollywood quicker than you can say, “Five-day juice cleanse”.
But while we know fat jabs may cause hair loss, heartburn and gassy internal plumbing, there seems to be another reason to steer clear — the loss of a sense of humour.
It appears that celebs who have dropped the pounds thanks to Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have also dropped key parts of their personalities, becoming shadows of their former funny selves.
Take comedian Amy Schumer, who built her brand on the art of self-deprecation.
The 44-year-old was by no means heavily overweight, but she knew that by Hollywood standards she stuck out due to her size — and she was very much in on the joke.
Amy previously insisted: “I don’t believe in crash-dieting or starving yourself. Like, get the f*** out of here. It’s just not right.”
Fast forward to today, and she seems to have gone through some seismic shifts.
Earlier this week, her fans were shocked to see she had wiped her social media clean to start afresh.
He first posting on her new Instagram was a very glam shot of herself in a red minidress, with a line-free face and slimmed waist.
This follows her reported weight loss of nearly 3st using Mounjaro.
In response, one fan commented: “She shouldn’t be ashamed of who she was! It’s made her who she is!”
Another added: “It’s so funny that these body positivity people became the biggest hypocrites ever — lol.”
Soon after, Amy hit back, writing: “I didn’t delete my old photos because they were me pre-losing weight. That’s a narrative you created.”
Lot of beef
She added that her lifestyle changes had improved her endometriosis and had cured her Cushing’s syndrome (where the body produces too much cortisol), before insisting: “Your Instagram is not your identity, it’s a curation of what you want the world to see. I feel great, strong and beautiful and it’s been fun sharing that.”
A really “fun” take there, Amy.
And it is a similar story with fellow comedian Rebel Wilson.
The Aussie found fame partly by owning and mocking her larger-than-life persona.
She even made a knowing joke through her beloved character in 2012 film Pitch Perfect, where she says she called herself “Fat Amy” so that “twig bitches like you don’t do it behind my back”.
In 2020, during what Rebel called her “year of health”, she lost 5st 10lb thanks to refocusing on a high- protein diet and upping her exercise.
Since then, she has also been open about using weight loss drugs for brief periods in an attempt to maintain her transformation.
But while nobody begrudges her that right, we cannot help but notice that she seems a little more, erm, weighed down than in prior times.
In interviews, she now rails against being made to play the “funny fat girl” for so long — which is justified, but also makes us re-examine everything we admired about her when she first found fame and seemed so unapologetic.
These days, the 45-year-old is still filming and creating, but she is simultaneously making more of a name for herself for the number of legal disputes she is embroiled in.
Among her current battles, she is being sued by Charlotte McInnes, the actress in her directorial movie debut, The Deb.
Charlotte has accused Rebel of defamation after she claimed that Charlotte had lied about being subject to sexual harassment on set, something Charlotte had denied.
She is also being sued by The Deb producers for allegedly breaking several contracts.
There has definitely been a noticeable loss of humour and lightness among many female celebrities who once built their careers on being candid, playful and unfiltered
TV psychologist Emma Kenny
This comes just a year after her memoir, Rebel Rising, caused controversy after she accused actor Sacha Baron Cohen of sexual harassment while filming 2016’s The Brothers Grimsby.
He denies the claims.
To avoid a legal backlash, the UK and Aussie editions of the book were released with the chapter detailing the allegations redacted.
All this has seen Rebel go from funny girl to fuming girl, and one who seems to tackle her showbiz interactions like she tackles her high-protein diet — with lots of beef.
Another comedian who has openly sacrificed her funny girl persona for a new glammed-up look is Daisy May Cooper.
Since starring as Kerry in BBC Three cult hit This Country, the 39-year-old has lost 10st (she denies using weight loss jabs), got her lips plumped and embraced her “glamazon” era with long blonde hair extensions.
But Daisy says that though she is happy with her appearance, it means she would never be able to reprise her role as dowdy Kerry, joking that the only way would be “if Kerry had a tapeworm and been stung by a bee”.
Thankfully, it seems Daisy has not lost the power to self-mock.
But her fans will not find it so funny if she prioritises her aesthetic over her art.
Then there is US singer Meghan Trainor, who has been one of the most vocal users of Mounjaro.
Meghan exploded on to the music scene in 2014 with her body- positive anthem All About That Bass — a bubblegum-infused two fingers to record executives who tried to force her to lose weight.
In 2022, she hit the charts with her equally catchy song Made You Look, which again urged listeners to embrace their natural beauty.
At the same time, Meghan, 31, started gaining traction online for her candid videos, which saw her dancing around her LA mansion in messy sweatpants and T-shirts.
She would be make-up-free with messy hair, and generally seemed relatable.
‘Less spontaneous’
Likewise, when she was pregnant with her second son, Barry, now two, Meghan “let it all out” and posted funny dance photos with her pregnant belly on full display.
Now, however, the needle has moved. After starting her postnatal weight-loss journey, Meghan turned to fat jabs and lost a reported 4st 4lb — and she hasn’t stopped there.
We’re watching a generation of female stars lose the vitality and humour that made them stand out
TV psychologist Emma Kenny
She has been open about a boob job and has been displaying a suspiciously taut and angular face that might suggest more cosmetic work.
But more than that, she seems to have had a personality transplant.
Gone are the self-mocking videos on her social media pages, replaced by a highly curated collection of sexed-up, ultra-glamorous images.
She has also taken her previously uplifting song lyrics to task, changing the wording of, “It’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two”, to, “It’s pretty clear, I’ve got some new boobs”.
As one fan said about one of her photos: “Used to be all about that bass . . . now she’s all about that waist.”
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, TV psychologist Emma Kenny says it is a worrying sign of the times.
She adds: “There has definitely been a noticeable loss of humour and lightness among many female celebrities who once built their careers on being candid, playful and unfiltered.
“Now their public images seem tightly controlled, heavily curated and far more serious.
“When old photos disappear and past versions of themselves are scrubbed away, it creates a sense that they are distancing themselves from identities that once helped empower other women.
“We don’t need to speculate about who is or isn’t taking medication, but we can absolutely talk about the psychological impact of living in a state of restriction.
“When people are exhausted, under-fuelled or obsessively focused on appearance, they naturally become less spontaneous, less humorous and more withdrawn. You can’t deprive the body without affecting the mind, and we are seeing the emotional flatness of that play out in real time on red carpets and social media feeds.
“We’re watching a generation of female stars lose the vitality and humour that made them stand out.”
Let’s remember that being under-nourished is not fun. You are tired, you are irritable and you cannot socialise in situations that focus around food and social dining.
Yes, Ozempic users might have their hunger stunted — but it could also stunt their ability to laugh at themselves and have any semblance of a normal life.
The question is: How much are these female stars really willing to lose in order to lose weight?
