This week, Amy Schumer appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote the season two of her comedy drama Life & Beth. The 42-year-old comedian subsequently trended on Google, but alas, not for reasons related to her show. Instead, 'Amy Schumer weight gain' was the top breakout search for the star, with a variation of the phrase making up seven of the top 10 searches for Amy.
The discourse online is similarly disheartening. 'I’m going to need all surgeons and doctors to weigh in here. Serious question, what happened to Amy’s face?' one viewer tweeted. 'Is it normally this size?' Naturally that opened the floodgates for an abundance of trolls to then comment on Amy Schumer's face and weight, both attacking the comedian and hypothesising about her appearance.
Tweets such as the above perhaps explain why 'Prednisone' is also trending on Google with Amy's name. Prednisone is a type of corticosteroid medication that treats a range of health problems from allergies and inflammation to blood disorders and infections. According to the NHS website, it reduces inflammation and 'calms down' your immune system but common side effects include weight gain, indigestion and problems sleeping. To be clear, Amy has never declared that she is taking prednisone or any kind of steroid treatment.
She has however, taken to Instagram to respond to the discourse. 'Thank you so much for everyone's input about my face,' Amy said. 'I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you’re right it is puffier than normal right now. I have endometriosis, an auto immune disease that every woman should read about.
'There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay,' she continued. 'Historically women’s bodies have barely been studied medically compared to men. The book “all in her head” does a good job explaining this. I also believe a woman doesn’t need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation. But I wanted to take the opportunity to advocate for self love and acceptance of the skin you’re in. Like every other woman/person some days I feel confident and good as hell and others I want to put a bag over my head. But I feel strong and beautiful and so proud of this TV show I created. Wrote. Starred in and directed. Maybe just maybe we can focus on that for a little. I had backup dancers on Fallon but my face is the headline hahaha anyway I hope you enjoy Life and Beth. Love and solidarity.'
Over the course of her career, Amy has routinely (and bravely) been open about weight and body image issues. Last year, she was one of very few Hollywood celebrities to admit to taking Ozempic, a prescription medication primarily used to treat diabetes but swept Hollywood as the weight loss drug of choice in 2022. The comedian actually appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen where she called out celebrities for lying about using the controversial drug for weight loss, urging them to ‘be real’ with the public.
‘Like a year ago, I tried it,’ Amy Schumer told Cohen of Ozempic, explaining that she only used it temporarily due to unmanageable side-effects. ‘I was one of those people that felt so sick and couldn’t play with my son. I was so skinny and he’s throwing a ball at me and [I couldn’t].’
Ozempic is FDA-approved and usually prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes, but reports into the drastic weight transformations some of Hollywood’s elite have found that swathes of celebrities are using the drug exclusively to lose weight. The discourse first began when people speculated online that Kim Kardashian had used it ahead of the 2023 Met Gala (she has since denied this), with New York Magazine reporting that Ozempic is the new drug of choice for all of New York’s elite too – and in the UK, the branded medications main ingredient, Semaglutide, are also flying off the shelves.
What has Amy Schumer said about weight loss medication Ozempic?
After that, Amy Schumer urged unnamed celebrities to be honest about using drugs like Ozempic. ‘Everyone’s like: “Smaller portions”’ she joked. ‘Shut the f*** up. You’re on Ozempic, or one of those things. Just stop…Just be real with the people. When I got lipo, I was like, I got lipo!’
Her honesty around weight loss sparked debate online at the time. How much do celebrities owe us when it comes to the tools and privileges used to maintain or change their appearance?
Sure, lying to the public about how you manage your life to look a certain way perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards, but when it comes to prescribed medication, is it actually that responsible for celebrities to openly attribute their weight loss to a drug meant to be reserved for diabetes sufferers? You only need revisit the Google search data at the time to be concerned, with searches for 'Amy Schumer weight loss' up 150% in June 2023 and 'Amy Schumer skinny' trending after she admitted to using Ozempic. Now, as the Google search data takes a drastic swing to 'Amy Schumer weight gain' and horrendously, 'Amy Schumer moon face' (a result of the above tweet, it seems), it's clear that people think they're entitled to know anything and everything about celebrities bodies and will publicly dissect their appearance no matter what.
It should go without saying that trolling a woman for her appearance online is despicable, but it's particularly gross when it comes to celebrities like Amy Schumer who have been open about their body image issues and yet are consistently used to create unnecessary conversations around weight. When will a woman be able to appear on TV without the internet jumping to mock her appearance? No matter how you feel about Amy Schumer personally, it's tiring and unhelpful.