Sophie Turner Flips Out After Seeing Weight-loss Drug Ozempic Ads in NYC Subway

Sophie Turner, known for her role as Sansa Stark in the hit series "Game of Thrones," recently spoke out against weight loss advertisements on the New York City subway. In an Instagram story, Turner criticized the ads for promoting unrealistic beauty standards and contributing to body shaming.

In a now-expired Instagram Story, the Game of Thrones star, 27, reposted a tweet from Sophie Vershbow criticizing ads for a telehealth company offering Semaglutide, which is an FDA-approved prescription medication used to treat clinical obesity. The actress shared the tweet, which featured photos of ads that say "a weekly shot to lose weight." Vershbow captioned the pictures: "The Ozempic ads plastered across the Times Square subway station can f— all the way off." Turner wrote "WTF" above the shared tweet.

While Ozempic was initially developed as a diabetes treatment, many Hollywood stars such as Chelsea Handler and “RHONJ” star Jennifer Fessler have turned to it to shed unwanted pounds. This new ad campaign appears to have capitalized on the weight-loss craze, as the posters read, “A shot weekly to lose weight.” Ozempic is a once-weekly antidiabetic injection used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, although some of its side effects include weight loss. Ozempic – which is a brand name for Semaglutide – works by mimicking a hormone that regulates appetite, by creating the feeling of fullness.

As per a report from The Independent, the controversial Subway ads promote the weight-loss medications as “a weekly shot to lose weight,” with the campaign showing individuals injecting the medication into their arms or stomachs. On its website, the telehealth company claims the Body Program – which costs $135 a month for the program alone – helps patients “lose weight by pairing revolutionary medication with coaching, care, and healthy lifestyle changes to make it last”. The cost of medication can reach up to $1,600 a month out of pocket if a patient’s insurance doesn’t cover the weight loss prescription.

Turner shared in an interview with Elle UK that she was previously "quite sick" with an eating disorder after struggling with her body image, which was exacerbated by negative comments she would get on social media.

"One night, I was playing over and over in my mind a comment I'd seen on Instagram. I was like, 'I'm so fat, I'm so undesirable,' and spinning out," Turner recalled, also noting that she had hired a live-in therapist at the time to help her with the eating disorder. "She said to me, 'You know, no one actually cares. I know you think this, but nobody else is thinking it. You're not that important.' That was the best thing anyone could have told me," Turner said. “I still have days when I feel depressed or anxious,” the “Staircase” actress admitted. “It’s manageable now — I have the tools. I know what’s good for me and what’s not good for me. I know what I have to do to get myself in a good headspace.” Turner first revealed her eating disorder in 2019 and shared that her issues began when she was a teen. They became so severe she stopped menstruating and she eventually became suicidal.

She credited her now-husband Joe Jonas with helping her heal. “He was, like, ‘I can’t be with you until you love yourself, I can’t see you love me more than you love yourself.’ That was something, him doing that,” she told The Sunday Times Magazine. “I think he kind of saved my life, in a way," she added.