Kathy Bates Blasts Critics Of Her 100-Pound Weight Loss

Kathy Bates has opened up about her decade-long health journey, including surviving cancer and losing 100 pounds over six to seven years.

While critics credited Ozempic for her weight loss, the actress insists most of it came from years of hard work, with the drug only helping her drop the final pounds.

Now healthier and energized, Kathy Bates admits she’s still adjusting to her new body after her physical transformation.

In a candid conversation with Variety, Kathy Bates pushed back against claims that her slimmer figure was solely thanks to Ozempic, the diabetes medication that’s recently gained popularity as a weight-loss aid.

“People say,’ Well, it was the Ozempic.’ F-ck you, it was the Ozempic! It took me years to do this. I got this diagnosis about diabetes — my father died of it; his mother died of it; one of my sisters is in peril,” Bates said bluntly.

She continued, “When they said’ diabetes,’ I figured out what to do to slowly, over the years, to lose the weight. And then when Ozempic came along, I was able to lose the last 15 to 20 pounds and keep it off.”

Reflecting on her journey, Bates admitted that the timing of her transformation feels almost surreal.

“The timing of it is great,” she said, noting how her improved health coincided with landing her lead role in “Matlock.”

Still, the 77-year-old Oscar winner confessed she’s learning to navigate life in her new body.

Recalling a recent fitting, Bates said, “She had a beautiful dress for me to try. I looked at it on the hanger, and I thought,’ That’s not gonna fit.’ I put it on, and it fit, and I just melted down.”

“I just started crying and crying. I’m still figuring out what it’s like to be without all of that weight,” Bates noted. “What was it for? What was I hiding myself from? What are the emotions that are pouring out because I don’t have that armor? It just really surprised me, really shocked me.”

Bates first opened up about her 100-pound weight loss in a September 2024 interview with Variety, revealing the transformation took her six to seven years.

She shared that the last time she was this slim was back in college, noting that by 2011, when she starred in “Harry’s Law,” she had reached her heaviest weight.

“I had to sit down every moment that I could,” Bates recalled. “It was hard for me to walk. I’m ashamed I let myself get so out of shape, but now I have a tremendous amount of energy.”

The actress has also been candid about speculation surrounding her use of Ozempic. In an October 2024 interview with People Magazine, she emphasized that most of the weight came off through sheer determination.

“There’s been a lot of talk that I just was able to do this because of Ozempic,” she said. “But I have to impress upon people out there that this was hard work for me, especially during the pandemic. It’s very hard to say you’ve had enough.”

Bates has been open about her health struggles over the past decade, from battling cancer twice to embarking on a 100-pound weight loss journey.

The Academy Award winner was first diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer in 2003, a fight she kept private while undergoing surgery and nine months of chemotherapy.

Nearly 10 years later, she faced another blow with a breast cancer diagnosis in 2013.

Due to her family’s history with the disease, Bates opted for a double mastectomy and chose not to pursue reconstructive surgery.

Though Bates overcame both cancers, the treatments left her with lymphedema, a chronic condition linked to the removal of lymph nodes.

In a 2018 interview with People, Bates admitted the diagnosis was devastating: “It’s a souvenir you definitely don’t want. I really felt that life was over for me. I probably wouldn’t work again, and I was angry for a long time.”

Determined to take control of her health, the “Titanic” actress shed 60 pounds by 2019, a move that she said helped manage her lymphedema symptoms.