You could barely fail to have noticed that the red carpet is getting thinner and thinner. From reality stars, to tech entrepreneurs, to Hollywood stars, it seems that figures in all walks of the public eye are proudly showing off their slimmed down, well, figures. Indeed the past year has been dubbed the year we saw a return to ‘super skinny’, with body positivity seemingly out, and size zero back in.

In some cases, such as Sharon Osbourne, the rock manager turned reality star, the public – who are undoubtedly inquisitive about such matters – have been given an open explanation for the sudden change in appearance. Osbourne admitted she had started using Ozempic, the diabetes drug with weight loss side effects, in December 2022 and had gone on to lose 42lbs. She ended up weighing seven stone.

‘Everything with weight with me was “I want it now,”’ said Osbourne, who also opened up about the highs and lows she experienced while on the medication. ‘You’re not hungry, but for me—it’s different for everybody—but for me, the first few weeks were f*cking sh*t because you just throw up all the time and feel so nauseous,’ she said. ‘After a couple of weeks, it goes, and you’re just fine. You feel fine, just not hungry.’

Meanwhile Tesla founder Elon Musk said he was taking Wegovy, similar to Ozempic, telling a user on X that he used ‘fasting … And Wegovy’ to look healthy.

By admitting to using the drug for weight loss, however, Musk and Osbourne’s words have felt revolutionary in what has been a much quieter landscape, with other suddenly-slimmer celebrities who have been suspected of harnessing Ozempic’s power keeping schtum. This week, singer-turned-talk-show-host Kelly Clarkson has made headlines for revealing that she had in fact been taking an Ozempic-adjacent drug after months of speculation about her changing body.

After previously insisting her dramatic transformation was the result of walking more and cutting back on carbs, the American Idol winner, 42, made the confession while interviewing Whoopi Goldberg, 68, on her show on Monday.

She said that doctors prescribed her with a weight loss medication after a blood test, admitting, ‘Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic, it’s not – it’s something else,’ adding, ‘My doctor chased me for like two years. And I was like, “No, I’m afraid of it. I already have thyroid problems.” I was afraid.’

Clarkson, who is reported to have lost 60lbs (though hasn’t revealed the amount herself), said the medication she takes is ‘something that aids in helping break down the sugar,’ as her ‘body doesn’t do it right.’

The commentary which followed Clarkson’s revelation put some emphasis on the fact that the singer had ‘finally’ opened up about how she had really lost the weight – indeed, there had been accusations that she’d been using Ozempic on social media for many months. Any celebrity who loses weight in this era of easy to obtain weight loss medication (you can buy it or be prescribed it) is subject to a similar ‘witch hunt’, with their fans, followers and critics desperate to know the ‘truth’ about their weight loss secrets. Singer Jessica Simpson and reality star Kelly Osbourne are just two of those celebrities who have been forced to speak out and deny using weight loss drugs after they both showed drastic changes in their appearance.

But do they owe us any explanation at all? Do we feel vindicated when we find out a celebrity has taken ‘the easy way out’? Or is it simply about transparency, living as we are in this web of impossible beauty standards where the rich can look thinner and younger than us because of the access they have to the newest wonder-treatments? If we know they’ve taken drugs and undergone cosmetic tweakments, does the pressure feel less urgent to look a certain way? Probably not, is the answer. We’re still being inundated with images of A-listers who seem to age in reverse, and celebrity thinness is becoming as celebrated now as it once was in the early noughties; knowing the secrets to how they reached their goal weight or their ‘fresher face’ is unlikely to really help us accept ourselves. That being said, it feels like a more honest and open landscape, a more level playing field – sort of like when we all collectively refused to admit that Victoria’s Secret models were inhaling Mcdonald’s burgers before their now infamous catwalk show as they would once have had us believe.

Baying for Ozempic-honesty from people who may not want to disclose their personal health issues feels intrusive and wrong. But by honestly talking about any health benefits, or dangers, they have discovered by taking the drug, stars like Kelly Clarkson are probably helping demystify what we know about Ozempic. And that can only be a good thing.