That conversation recently ignited when Serena Williams posted a gym pic on Instagram , captioning it, “Working out and working on my angles.” What should have been a moment to celebrate a strong woman and sports icon became a takedown moment, with a flood of strangers criticizing her body via the comments section and accusing her of taking Ozempic . “I like the thick Serena better,” one commenter said. “Ozempic. Doesn’t even look like Serena anymore,” posted another.

There are plenty of times when celebrity transparency is celebrated and encouraged (see: Jessica Biel’s honesty around her “The Better Sister” physique). But sometimes, we all need to take a step back and remember that celebrities don’t owe us anything when it comes to sharing their personal information, especially when it comes to their health .

Whether or not someone uses GLP-1s is not the issue. The real problem here is why so many people feel entitled to “accuse” someone of using a GLP-1, as if it’s a bad thing. And why do total strangers feel they are owed an explanation about something so personal?

Experts Featured In This Article

Erin Meyer, LCPC, is a licensed therapist and founder of Mindful Healing Works.

“We live in a culture that expects people, especially women, to bare it all. And if you’re in the public eye, that pressure is even louder,” says Erin Meyer, LCPC, a therapist and founder of Mindful Healing Works. “But just because someone shares their story doesn’t mean everyone has to. We have to stop treating disclosure like it’s a requirement for authenticity.”

GLP-1 use is becoming increasingly common, and no one can deny that it’s changing a lot of people’s lives. Still, there’s unwarranted shame and stigma surrounding people who use the medications for weight loss. “GLP-1s have stirred up a lot of opinions, mostly because of how they’ve been portrayed on social media. We’ve all seen the headlines and the before-and-after posts, and for many, that’s all they know,” Meyer says. “It becomes a debate, a controversy, a moral issue, and that pressure can make people feel like they either have to hide or explain themselves.”

Meyer says many people, celebrities or not, can feel pressure to disclose that they use GLP-1s if they’ve lost weight or if someone is commenting on their body. But it’s important to remember that “you don’t owe anyone an explanation,” Meyer says. “You just don’t. Especially when it comes to your health.”

“There’s this idea that in order to be accepted, we have to disclose, confess, over-explain, and a lot of that is tied to how we’re wired,” she adds. But no matter what your feelings or reactions are around GLP-1s, no one (including yourself, your friend, or a celeb on Instagram) owes you an explanation when it comes to their body and their health.

So let’s stop demanding this type of transparency from celebrities or anyone else in our lives. Instead, let’s welcome honesty and transparency when it serves that person, and keep in mind that you don’t always have to know what people are doing when it comes to their health (and you don’t always know the full picture).

“Celebrities might have a platform, but they’re still human,” Meyer says. “They get to have boundaries. They get to choose when and if they share. No one gets to demand that level of access to someone else’s healing process.”

Mercey Livingston is a writer and editor with eight-plus years of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition for media outlets and brands including Well+Good, Shape, and Women’s Health. She was the fitness editor at Peloton and held editorial roles at Equinox, Shape, and Well+Good. Mercey is a NASM-certified personal trainer and women’s fitness specialist. She’s also a certified holistic health coach through the Institute For Integrative Nutrition, with an additional certification in hormone health.