Amanda Bynes says she’s starting to take Ozempic to “look better” for the invasive paparazzi.
The former child star, 39, said she was “excited” to begin a weight loss journey in a video shared on Instagram Story. “I’m 173 now so I hope to get down to like 130, which would be awesome so I look better in paparazzi pictures,” Bynes said.
Ozempic is an anti-diabetic injection medication that helps manage diabetes, but has been used as a popular weight-loss method among stars in recent years.
Bynes, who rose to prominence as a child star on such shows as All That and The Amanda Show, has spoken candidly about her body image and mental health troubles in the years since. She stepped away from acting in 2012 because of her struggles with body image.
Amanda Bynes/Instagram
Amanda Bynes says she’s starting Ozempic on Instagram Story
Speaking to Paper in 2018, Bynes recalled how the “out-of-body experience” of watching her cult favorite 2006 comedy She’s the Man — in which her character disguised herself as her twin brother to play for an all-male soccer team — fed into her insecurities.
“When the movie came out and I saw it, I went into a deep depression for 4-6 months because I didn’t like how I looked when I was a boy,” Bynes said, sharing that she “abused” Adderall after “reading an article in a magazine that [called Adderall] ‘the new skinny pill.'”
A screening of her 2010 comedy Easy A, starring Emma Stone, proved to be a tipping point. “I literally couldn’t stand my appearance in that movie and I didn’t like my performance,” Bynes said. “I was absolutely convinced I needed to stop acting after seeing it.”
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Bynes has sought treatment in the years since, with the paparazzi having a history of critiquing her appearance. She addressed headlines surrounding her new look — namely, her face, in 2023, clarifying on social media that she underwent blepharoplasty surgery to remove skin folds from the corner of her eyes.
“It was one of the best things I could have ever done for my self-confidence and it made me feel a lot better in my skin,” she said. “So I just wanted to post about that just to clear up that rumor as to why I have a new look. I feel a lot better now about myself.”
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