Billy Gardell has revealed that he was an Ozempic spokesperson before the medication became widely associated with weight loss, saying he stopped taking it after his year-long deal ended.
The actor, known for Mike & Molly and Bob Hearts Abishola, said he had Type 2 diabetes when he appeared in a 2021 advertising campaign for Ozempic. He lost 12lb while taking it.
Speaking on the Breaking Bread podcast, Gardell said: “I was on Ozempic for a year, and I was their spokesman, but it was for Type 2 diabetes, and they didn’t know it was a weight loss [drug] yet.”
He said he stopped taking the medication after the agreement ended and subsequently chose to undergo bariatric surgery because he wanted a more permanent change.
“For a very nice paycheck, I stopped doing that and just got the surgery because I wanted everything to change, but had I known it was a weight-loss drug, I probably would’ve [ridden] that out,” Gardell said.
Gardell has lost more than 150lb over the past five years. He previously said he weighed 370lb about a decade ago, before reaching between 205lb and 210lb in April 2023.
He said encouragement from his children helped persuade him to have the surgery. “I don’t want to survive what I’ve survived, succeed what I’ve succeeded and then not be able to get out of a chair,” he said.
Addressing others struggling with their weight, Gardell added: “For anybody out there struggling, if I can do it, you can do it and don’t let nobody tell you differently. Do whatever it takes.”
