Whoopi Goldberg and her fellow hosts on The View sparked an interesting debate Thursday when they found themselves siding with Elon Musk on a hot topic: the weight loss drug Ozempic. The conversation put them at odds with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s set to take on a big role as Health and Human Services Secretary.
Musk has been vocal about his belief in making Ozempic widely available to tackle America’s growing obesity crisis. Kennedy, on the other hand, thinks a focus on healthier eating would be more effective and less costly.
“I’m with Elon on this one!” Goldberg announced, agreeing with co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin during their chat about the clash between Musk and Kennedy. Goldberg even shared her personal journey, revealing she had tipped the scales at nearly 300 pounds two years ago before turning to Mounjaro, a medication similar to Ozempic, to help her shed the weight.
“These kinds of drugs aren’t just about eating habits,” Goldberg explained. “Some people are simply born with genetics that make it harder for them to manage their size.” She argued that Kennedy’s emphasis on diet might unintentionally shame people.
“Maybe you don’t realize it,” she said, addressing Kennedy indirectly. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, but when you say stuff like that, it doesn’t help everyone. Not everyone can just eat their way out of this.”
Joy Behar chimed in, saying Ozempic’s side effects aren’t as bad as people might think.
Musk, known for running Tesla, SpaceX, and the social platform X, has been a consistent advocate for GLP inhibitors like Ozempic. He believes their benefits outweigh the costs, tweeting this week that these medications could drastically improve Americans’ health and quality of life. “Nothing else even comes close,” he wrote.
Kennedy, however, took a different stance in a recent interview. He pointed out that making Ozempic widely available to everyone struggling with obesity could cost as much as $3 trillion a year. “For a fraction of that, we could provide three healthy meals a day to every person in the country and solve the problem overnight,” he argued.
The debate highlights the ongoing challenge of addressing America’s obesity epidemic—should the focus be on advanced medications, or is a back-to-basics approach like healthy eating the better solution? Either way, it’s clear the conversation isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
