Before skinny jabs changed the face of the entertainment industry, the ‘dad bod’ was enjoying its moment in the sun.
Stars like Travis Kelce, Matt Le Blanc, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Gerard Butler proudly flaunted the ‘dude gut’ as research revealed women actually prefer the look to an ultra–ripped physique.
However, the rise of GLP–1 medications like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro has eaten away at the ‘dad bod’ with an ever–increasing number of famous faces looking thinner than ever.
The latest male celebrity to spark Ozempic speculation is Matt Willis, after he appeared alongside Emma Willis in a new promo for the Netflix dating show Love Is Blind UK.
Under the post on Instagram, some fans noted the 42–year–old musician looked dramatically different from when he and Emma hosted the first season.
While Matt has not addressed these rumours, he isn’t the only male celebrity to endure unfounded Ozempic speculation in the wake of dramatic physical transformations.
Stars like Jesse Plemons, Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, Matthew McConaughey, and David Harbour have all been the subject of similar fan conjecture following the ‘Ozempification’ of Hollywood in recent years.
Academy Award nominee Plemons admitted skinny jabs had cast a shadow over his weight loss journey after he dropped 50 pounds in 18 months.
In March 2024, the actor – who shot to fame for his role as Landry Clarke on Friday Night Lights – walked the Oscars red carpet alongside his wife, Kirsten Dunst.
Fans were struck by the Power of the Dog star’s much slimmer physique and said Jesse, now 38, ‘looked so different’ after shedding the weight.
Rumours swirled that Jesse’s dramatic transformation was the result of using skinny jab – even after he opened up about the decision to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Jesse revealed he started trying to lose weight in 2022 because he was ‘tired of carrying all that extra weight around’. He chalked the results down to following a consistent intermittent fasting plan, cutting out carbohydrates, and avoiding ‘terrible’ foods.
But when the speculation refused to die down, Jesse finally addressed the ‘unfortunate’ Ozempic rumours during an interview with the Los Angeles Times in June 2024.
It’s really unfortunate that I decided to get healthy when everyone decided to take Ozempic,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t matter, everyone’s going to think I took Ozempic anyway.’
Jesse later told The Independent that he first gained weight for a movie part when he was cast as real–life mobster Kevin Weeks in the 2015 film Black Mass with Johnny Depp.
He admitted it ‘did mess me up’ as Jesse added: ‘I don’t know if it’s something I would do again.’
As he struggled to lose the weight, Jesse also found it ‘dictated the types of parts I was being asked to play’ on screen. ‘Having lost the weight, aside from feeling better, it does feel like I’ve opened another door to potential parts I can play.
David Harbour also hailed intermittent fasting as an effective weight loss strategy after the Stranger Things star revealed he shed a whopping 75 lbs for the fourth season of the Netflix hit.
In an Instagram post, he revealed that he worked with a trainer for eight months to ‘make the transformation’ and then for ‘another year’ to keep the weight off after production got shut down due to the COVID–19 pandemic.
The actor told GQ that he used intermittent fasting and that his diet consisted mostly of salads and Greek yoghurt.
He also credited resistance work, cardio, and Pilates.
GLP–1s were a closely guarded A–list secret until celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk started name–dropping Ozempic nearly five years ago.
In a glowing testimonial, Musk, now 56, claimed a combination of fasting and Wegovy helped him shed almost 30lbs and left him looking ‘fit, ripped, and healthy’ in October 2022.
When a fan on X, then Twitter, asked Elon how he had lost weight, the tech mogul replied: ‘Fasting + Ozempic/Wegovy + no tasty food for me.’
British pop star Boy George, now 66, suggested ‘anyone who was fat last year and is now skinny is on the wonder drug’ in his memoir Karma: My Autobiography that was released in January 2024.
The Karma Chameleon singer – real name George Alan O’Dowd – said he underwent a tummy tuck ‘to get rid of the excess skin’ after losing 100 pounds and admitted to taking Mounjaro to maintain his new slimline look.
Mounjaro uses the active ingredient tirzepatide, which targets GLP–1 and the hormone glucose–dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).
‘I have struggled with my weight most of my life, and being under public and media scrutiny doesn’t help,’ George wrote.
‘We are all guilty of saying, ‘Hasn’t so and so got big,’ even when we are carrying extra pounds ourselves.’
‘I love food, and I can’t control my appetite, but I think I have finally got it under control,’ he continued. ‘Well, I’m on Mounjaro. Isn’t everyone? Trust me, anyone who was fat last year and is now skinny is on the wonder drug.’
Robbie Williams was among the earliest male celebrities to admit to using GLP–1s after the pop star now famously told The Times he was diagnosed with ‘type 2 self–loathing’.
In the interview, the former Take That star credited ‘something like Ozempic’ with helping him lose two stones.
Delving beyond the humour, Robbie explained that being overweight is ‘shockingly catastrophic’ for his mental health.
The popstar, who was once dubbed ‘Blobby Williams,’ described how mean his inner voice can be when he isn’t slim.
‘Babe, I’m on Ozempic…Well, something like Ozempic. It’s like a Christmas miracle. I’ve gone from 13st 13lb to 12st 1lb,’ he said at the time. ‘And I need it, medically. I’ve been diagnosed with type 2 self–loathing.
‘It’s shockingly catastrophic to my mental health to be bigger. My inner voice talks to me like Katie Hopkins talks about fat people. It’s maddening.’
Access to GLP–1 medications such as Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Ozempic is regulated in the UK.
While these are available both through the NHS and private providers, skinny jabs are only prescribed for managing type–2 diabetes or weight loss in adults with a BMI over 30 or 27 if accompanied by conditions such as high cholesterol.
Since his ‘something like Ozempic’ confession, however, Robbie has expressed fears that weight loss jabs are ‘making him blind’ as the singer told The Sun that his eyesight has become increasingly blurry.
‘I was quite an early adopter of the jabs but what I’m also noticing is that my eyesight’s not very good,’ he told the newspaper, while revealing he has been prescribed new glasses.
‘It’s been blurry for a while now, and it’s only getting worse. I don’t believe it’s age; I believe it’s the jabs.’
On tour, the problem has become even more obvious.
Robbie, who typically serenades a fan during She’s The One, admitted he can barely see the person he’s performing to – something the audience is completely unaware of.
He continued: ‘Basically, I was looking in the direction of these women looking up at me, having this experience that’s quite obviously incredible to them, and little do they know I can’t see them.’
The singer said he was speaking out to alert others of possible side effects and encourage them to do their ‘research’ before starting these medications.
Meanwhile, Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness was forced to address the ‘gigantic conversation’ surrounding their 70–pound weight loss after admitting to ‘being on a GLP–1 or weight loss medication’.
Known as GLP–1 agonists, the drugs increase feelings of fullness, reducing the amount of food a user consumes.
Critics accused Jonathan – who identifies as non–binary – of ‘not being a body positive person’ after they posted a striking before–and–after image of their transformation.
In the ‘after’ image, Jonathan can be seen flexing their toned biceps while posing in black briefs as they wrote that ‘glp–1s [weight loss medication] have been a huge help’ in achieving their lean physique, along with ‘major’ lifestyle changes and ‘group fitness’ classes.
Months later, they clarified that ‘I have always felt confident and beautiful in my body’ regardless of their size in a TikTok video.
Other male celebrities who have been open about using GLP–1s on their weight loss journey include The Kardashians star Scott Disick, who said he ‘was not embarrassed’ about it, and American comedian Jim Gaffigan, who lost 50 pounds with the help of Mounjaro.
‘I feel good,’ he told People magazine. ‘I’m just grateful because it’s such a better life.’
