Serena Williams criticised for taking weight-loss drug after pregnancy: ‘An athlete like her is dangerous for society'

Fans have criticised Serena Williams, the retired tennis player, after she revealed she lost more than 30 pounds with the help of a weight-loss drug. On Thursday, GLP-1 medicine company Ro shared a joint Instagram post announcing its partnership with the tennis legend. In the clip, Williams, 43, appeared to inject herself with the weekly treatment, which she said her body “needed” after having two children.

The post quickly drew backlash, with many fans expressing disappointment.

Here's how social media users reacted: “As an athlete and an influencer, it’s a shame that you’re reiterating the narrative that you need to take medication to be healthy and achieve an acceptable standard of beauty. This video made me really sad and disappointed,” one person commented.

Another wrote: “‘After kids this is the medicine my body needed.’ Needed? Fantastic, now we can undo all the progression we made on letting women know it’s ok to take time, recover and get back in shape or not to.”

“The messaging here is so wrong coming from an athlete like her and very dangerous for society,” added a third.

A fourth fan said: “You can put whatever you want in your body but let’s not call it healthcare! This is so disturbing to me coming from a former elite athlete.”

A fifth person claimed the star is sending a “terrible message to our youth,” particularly young female athletes.

Williams says weight-loss struggles began after her first pregnancy Earlier this week, the 23-time Grand Slam winner confirmed she was the latest celebrity to turn to weight-loss injections. “I feel great,” she told People magazine. “I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.”

Williams explained her weight struggles began in 2017 after the birth of her eldest daughter, Alexis Olympia, who was delivered by emergency C-section.

“I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be, no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained,” she said. “It was crazy because I’d never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at.”

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