Weight Loss Influencer's Fans Angry When She Reveals How She Was Really Pulling It Off

A wellness influencer named Janelle Rohner has come under fire after revealing that she had lost a considerable amount of weight after taking a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) weight loss drug, a classification that includes blockbuster drug brands like Ozempic and Wegovy.

In a video shared last month, Rohner admitted to using the drug after trying "it all — keto, macros, workouts, lifestyle shifts."

"GLP-1s are not magic, they don’t change your lifestyle overnight," she argued.

Her fans, the Wall Street Journal reports, were outraged. The optics of giving the impression that she'd been losing weight through diet and exercise before revealing that she'd been using a drug as well weren't good, especially because she'd been selling a course about micronutrients for $200.

"If you’re in the fat loss world and taking a GLP-1, you must disclose it," one commenter wrote. "There’s nothing wrong with taking one but not disclosing it WHILE SELLING FAT LOSS COURSES is slimy as hell."

The reality is that GLP-1 drugs have been found to be highly effective at allowing people to shed significant amounts of weight. They've also been linked to a grab bag of other health benefits, from a lower risk of developing kidney disease to heading off diabetes.

The drugs have had an immense effect on the entertainment and influencer industries, with notable figures rapidly and noticeably shedding weight.

The wellness industry has also been heavily affected. Earlier this month, WeightWatchers, a company once promoted by the likes of Oprah Winfrey — herself now a booster of GLP-1 drugs — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Rohner was swept up in the conversation as well. But without publicly disclosing her use of the drug, she alienated huge swathes of her followers.

"Being on a GLP-1 isn’t that deep," one TikTok user wrote in response to a reaction video. "If you’re ashamed, then get off it. The problem is you hid it and then created a food program for weight loss and people paid money for that. That's being a cheat."

"Acai with a side of secret GLP," another user wrote in response to a acai bowl recipe video.

In an interview with the WSJ, Rohner said that she hadn't promoted the "Macro 101" course in over two years and that sales had dwindled, but still believed wholeheartedly in it.

The influencer revealed that she felt mentally unprepared to tell her audience that she was taking a GLP-1.

However, legal experts told the WSJ that her failure to omit the glaring detail would be unlikely to amount to false advertising.

"It’s really just a PR crisis," advertising lawyer Robert Freund told the newspaper.

More on GLP-1s: Human Experiments on GLP-1 Pill Looking Extremely Promising

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