Chrissy Metz goes public with GLP-1 use and partners with telehealth firm Ro

Against the backdrop of widening public appetite for GLP-1 medications, actress Chrissy Metz has become the latest high-profile figure to disclose her own use of one, announcing a partnership with Ro, a telehealth company providing weight-loss medications and treatments for other conditions. The 45-year-old, who currently stars in the Broadway musical "& Juliet" and is best known for her role in "This Is Us," made the disclosure across two media appearances: an interview on NBC's "Today" and a conversation on "The Tamsen Show" podcast.

A personal pivot, then a commercial one

Metz told both programs that she had long been skeptical of GLP-1s and described herself as afraid of even starting one. That changed when her father died from obesity-related complications. The medication, she said, quieted what she called "food noise," the persistent mental preoccupation with eating that she said had always run loudly in the background. The realization that not everyone experienced that noise was, by her account, a turning point.

She came to understand the issue as chemical, metabolic, and hereditary. Her partnership with Ro, which offers medications for a range of conditions including weight loss through telehealth platforms, is the commercial result.

The criticism that follows regardless

Metz used part of her appearance on "The Tamsen Show" to address the commentary that follows her publicly, whether her weight is rising or falling. One exchange she recounted involved a distant relative who congratulated her on taking control of her weight, noting it had always been a family issue. Metz said that one lands differently because the relative is herself overweight and understands the experience firsthand. The remarks that arrive from strangers online are another matter. She observed that people who post critical comments would never say the same things in person, and she described questions ranging from her physical appearance to why she is or is not losing weight. She called continuing to work and appear publicly despite all of it an "act of rebellion."

Her father's death from obesity complications is the fact that anchors the timing. Metz told "Today" that she now feels better on the medication.