CNN boss Chris Licht bragged about taking Ozempic for weight loss
CNN boss Chris Licht boasted in a recent profile that he shed 50lbs through a grueling diet and exercise routine - but failed to mention he had a little help from Hollywood's favorite drug - Ozempic.
Multiple sources tell DailyMail.com that the self-proclaimed meal-skipping 'machine' actually bragged about using the diabetes drug turned weight loss miracle Ozempic before it became popular among A-listers earlier this year.
'I heard about Ozempic from Chris,' a close friend of Licht told DailyMail.com. 'When he was at Colbert he explained that he was a huge fan of it and he'd been using it to get his weight under control. This was back in 2021.
'So I was shocked when I read the Atlantic story and he was claiming it was due to a trainer and cutting meals. Puh-lease he told me point blank he uses it.'
CNN boss Chris Licht claimed in a recent profile that he dropped 50lbs through grueling diet and exercise. But sources tell DailyMail.com that Licht bragged about being on Ozempic - diabetes drug turned weight loss miracle - as far back at 2021
'He told me he was on Ozempic,' one source said. 'So I was shocked when I read the Atlantic story and he was claiming it was due to a trainer and cutting meal'
'I'm a f****** machine,' Licht, 51, said in a lengthy profile in The Atlantic published on Friday when describing his commitment to skipping meals and early morning gym sessions with trainer Joe Maysonet.
The CEO had weighed 226lbs in 2020 and dropped down to 178lbs in March of this year. He credited much of the 50lb drop to attending the exclusive J Train gym in New York City that caters to the elite.
Licht took over as CEO of CNN Worldwide in February 2022 after his predecessor Jeff Zucker was ousted from the network after it emerged he was having an affair with a CNN executive
Licht took over as CEO of CNN Worldwide in February 2022 after his predecessor Jeff Zucker was ousted from the network after it emerged he was having an affair with a CNN executive.
Licht went as far as to say in the profile that Zucker 'couldn't do this sh*t' while squatting down during one of his workouts.
But nowhere in the 15,000-word article was there mention of the drug he so proudly touted to friends and colleagues.
Two senior staffers at CNN told DailyMail.com they witnessed Licht boasting about his Ozempic use.
'He told me he was on Ozempic. I was impressed that he was so open about it as he looks great,' they said. 'People read that paragraph in that Atlantic story and were floored he was leaving out the real secret to losing all his weight: Ozempic.'
'When he mocked the physicality of Jeff it was beyond hypocritical as he lost all of his weight on Ozempic. This was just so offensive.'
'He's the Star Jones of CNN,' they said referring to the host who kept her gastric bypass surgery under wraps. '''I used diet and exercise.'' - No sweetie you used a doctor,' the source said.
They claim that Licht has 'championed' Ozempic in editorial meetings.
'Just Google CNN and Ozempic and look at how many stories we have done,' they said. 'Our iconic brand tagline is ''This is CNN'', he should've just said ''This is Ozempic'', instead of sh***ing all over Jeff Zucker.'
CNN has not responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
The CEO had weighed 226lbs in 2020 and dropped down to 178lbs in March of this year. Zucker is pictured in 2016 before his weight loss
Nowhere in the 15,000-word article was there mention of the drug Licht so proudly touted to friends and colleagues. Licht is pictured in May of this year
It was also revealed in The Atlantic that fired CNN host Don Lemon and Licht had come to blows over a wardrobe.
In early November, during a final rehearsal before the launch of CNN This Morning, Lemon baffled producers by arriving back on set from a break wearing a white jacket with fur collar over a turtleneck.
'What the f**k is he wearing?' blurted out Licht in the control room, according to a firsthand account from Atlantic staff writer Tim Alberta, who was there working on a the in-depth profile of Licht.
A junior producer hesitantly relayed Licht's concern through Lemon's earpiece, drawing a 'miffed' look from the CNN host as he said: 'Don, uhh, we're not too crazy about the jacket in here.'
Alberta's firsthand account details a number of incidents of friction between Licht and Lemon at the rehearsal, which was four days before the CNN morning show featuring Lemon, Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow, launched on November 8.
Lemon was fired from CNN in April following a 17-year stint there, in a move widely viewed as part of Licht's campaign to shake the network's liberal-leaning image and reinvent it as a down-the-middle, facts-first news organization.
The report details behind-the-scenes tensions between Don Lemon (center) and Licht during a rehearsal for CNN This Morning last fall
A former executive producer for MSNBC's Morning Joe and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Licht was tapped for the top job at CNN by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Under orders from Zaslav, Licht's mission has been to steer CNN towards more objective news coverage and attempt to win over more conservative-leaning voters.
But the hallmark of that campaign, last month's CNN town hall interview with Donald Trump, has brought withering backlash from some of the network's own journalists.
They criticized the format, in which Trump attacked interviewer Collins as a 'nasty person' and repeated falsehoods about the election in front of an audience of cheering fans.
Veteran correspondent Christiane Amanpour publicly slammed the town hall in remarks to graduating students at Columbia University's graduate school of journalism.
Our source says, 'The way things are going for him at CNN, he should be planning his next gig, this was his opportunity to position himself as Ozempic's Chief Marketing Officer. It's clearly worked for him, he should own it.'
Source: Daily Mail
