The Thursday Take — Serena Williams, GLP-1s, and the New Face of Weight Loss

What it means when an icon of strength and resilience is enlisted to normalize weight-loss injections.

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Serena Williams is now the face of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs through telehealth company Ro.

I’ve been sitting with this for the past few days.

A 23-time Grand Slam winner.

A mother.

A global icon of strength, resilience, and defiance against narrow beauty ideals…

Now enlisted to normalize weight-loss injections.

She told Women’s Health:

“I am a very good use case of how you can do everything—eat healthy, work out to the point of even playing a professional sport and getting to the finals of Wimbledon and US Opens—and still not be able to lose weight.”

That quote literally stopped me.

Because, if even Serena, a true pinnacle of athletic excellence, believes her body wasn’t good enough because it didn’t shrink on demand…

What message does that send to the rest of us?

This is obviously very complicated.

Yes, Serena has full autonomy over her body.

Yes, she has endured decades of misogynoir, scrutiny, and commentary that I will never fully understand.

And yes, she’s allowed to make choices rooted in her own experience and desires.

But, we can honor her and critique the system.

And, it’s also worth noting: Serena’s husband, Alexis Ohanian, is an investor and advisor in Ro.

That adds another layer here — this isn’t only about her personal choice, but also about financial incentives and family business ties.

But, this isn’t just about one woman.

It’s about what happens when medical weight-loss drugs become normalized as a miracle fix through celebrity marketing, glossed over in glamor and stripped of context and medical nuance.

Let’s not forget:

• GLP-1s are being repurposed from diabetes treatment to mainstream weight loss, and fast.

• Side effects are real, and long-term use in non-diabetics is still not well understood.

• Clinical evidence shows these drugs can intensify preoccupation with weight, especially if body image and food relationship are not addressed.

• Younger generations are watching their idols inject their way into “wellness.”

We’re at a cultural inflection point.

For a brief moment, it felt like the pendulum was swinging toward body diversity, liberation from diet culture, and true health.

Now, it seems to be swinging back.

Only this time, restriction is administered through a syringe.

Remember that thin ≠ healthy ≠ worthy.

We need to teach the next generation that their bodies are not lifelong correction projects.

Serena will always be a legend.

But, her new role signals a future we must question: one where thinness is marketed not just as aspirational, but expected.

Let’s resist that and build one rooted in wholeness, health, and vitality.

What are your thoughts on this shift toward celebrity-endorsed weight-loss drugs? Let me know in the comments.

And, if you have any other questions or comments, don’t hesitate to ask me any time in my weekly Q&A in my paid subscriber channel. If you’re not a paid subscriber, sign up below.

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