Actress and comedian Mo’Nique Hicks is expressing her concern over the public using various GLP-1 drugs to lose weight.
In an emotional video, a teary-eyed Mo’Nique cautioned those using GLP-1s to achieve their dream physiques to be wary about what they’re putting in their bodies, stating she was skeptical of the potential side effects of the drug.
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Mo’Nique Is Expressing Her Genuine Concern For Those Choosing To Use GLP-1 Drugs To Shed Pounds
In a video shared online, reported by Essence, Mo’Nique questioned whether those using GLP-1s to lose weight were informed enough about the medication that they’re putting in their bodies.
“What is the long-term effects? What will it do to your body? Your mind? What will it do to us five years from now, 10 years from now?” she asked.
Mo’Nique went on to say that while those taking the drug to “look like a million bucks” may feel on top of the world now, the tables could turn at a later point.
“You may get down to that size two or size four or that size eight or whatever that thing is. But I would ask you to research what you’re putting in your body,” she said.
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Mo’Nique Implies That Celebrities And Influencers Have People ‘Caught Up In Trends,’ Claims It’s Doing More Harm Than Good
GLP-1s are a type of medication that helps lower blood sugar levels and trigger weight loss, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Megawatt celebrities, including Oprah and Serena Williams, are also part of the growing community of public figures endorsing the drug for money.
“They got us caught up in trends,” Mo’Nique said in her video, adding that ordinary people are being influenced by “big stars.”
Continuing, Mo’Nique shared a frightening opinion: “They’re taking away our willpower.” She went on, “They’re taking away our fight. They’re taking away our ability to say, I believe in myself, I’m [going to] trust the process.”
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Mo’Nique Says People Need To ‘Love Themselves Enough’ In The Wake Of GLP-1s Becoming Easily Accessible And Wildly Popular
Elsewhere in the video, Mo’Nique grew emotional and encouraged her viewers to “love yourself enough not to be tricked.”
“Because we’re so easily tricked, especially us,” she said through tears, seemingly referring to Black people.
“I’m not judging nobody’s decision because it is yours, however, I’m talking to the babies out there that is questioning things. Love you enough to trust your process,” she finished.
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Fitness Guru Jillian Michaels Said She Encouraged ‘Eight’ Family Friends To Stop Taking GLP-1s For Weight Loss
Mo’Nique isn’t the only public figure to speak out against the use of GLP-1s for weight loss.
According to PEOPLE, Jillian Michaels from the fitness show “The Biggest Loser,” told the publication that she was able to convince “eight” family friends to stop taking the drug after they reportedly began experiencing unpleasant symptoms.
“They’re getting heart palpitations, they’re nauseous, they feel like sh-t. They feel so awful that it’s motivated them to reverse their type 2 diabetes,” she said.
Michaels also discussed that the rapid weight gain that can occur after individuals come off the drug, calling it the “rebound effect.”
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“So you’re not gaining anything. You get off the drug in a year and go all the way back. You’ve not learned anything. You’ve not built any physical strength or endurance. You haven’t learned how to eat healthy,” she added.
“If a person’s self-esteem is so bound up in how they look, it’s frightening,” the “Titanic” actress said.
What Stars Have Been Candid About Using GLP-1 To Help Them Achieve Their Fitness Goals?
Tennis legend Williams, meanwhile, told PEOPLE that using a GLP-1 helped her reach fitness goals she’d never been able to previously. “It was crazy because I’d never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at,” she said.
Using a GLP-1, however, helped Williams lose over 30 pounds, something she said made her really “excited.”
“GLP-1 helped me enhance everything that I was already doing — eating healthy and working out, whether it was as a professional athlete at the top level of tennis or just going to the gym every day. So I think that it’s important for everyone to hear my story. And I feel like there’s a lot of people that can relate,” she added.