​YouTuber faces backlash for hiding the secret of her weight loss journey (hint: it was a popular drug)

Imagine building a community online based on your inspiring journey, and then the followers get to know that you were simply hiding the truth!

A prominent wellness influencer and nurse, Janelle Rohner, with around 6 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, is currently facing severe backlash after revealing that her recent weight loss was in fact aided by GLP-1 medication, such as Ozempic. Previously, Rohner had shared her transformation journey, promoting diet tips, exercise routines, and a $200 "Macros 101" course, all while omitting mention of the medication.

What happened?

The 37-year-old social media influencer revealed in a YouTube video that she's been using GLP-1 “as a tool to help” in her weight loss journey, after various other methods hadn’t worked. For the unversed, semaglutide medications, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, are all classified as GLP-1 drugs and have become increasingly popular in recent years.

Rohner began with, “Over the last year, I have decided to make some new choices in my health. I started working with a doctor, and we did decide to add a GLP-1 to my plan,” adding that she’d “tried it all — keto, macros, workouts, lifestyle shifts."

She said, “GLP-1s are not magic. They don’t change your lifestyle overnight — it’s just a tool to help. I still had to show up: show up for my meals, track my macros, drink my water, go on walks, do my workouts — everything that I already teach and believe in. It just helped me regain a sense of control, and it’s something that I don’t want to be ashamed of.”

She went on to share, “After a few months, I had lost the stubborn 10 to 15 pounds. I was happy. I switched to microdosing for maintenance, and I would maybe do a microdose once a month.”

What are GLP-1 medications?

GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) medications are primarily prescribed to manage type 2 diabetes and, in some cases, obesity. They function by regulating blood sugar levels and suppressing appetite. While effective, their use for weight loss in individuals without these conditions has sparked debate among healthcare professionals.

The social media backlash:

Rohner's revelation came in an April 23 YouTube video, where she admitted to using GLP-1 medication to shed the last 10–15 pounds of her weight loss journey. Although she emphasized that the medication was merely a tool and that she continued to engage in healthy habits like tracking macros and exercising, the followers were not convinced.

They didn’t respond well to Rohner’s video, however, as they accused her of “misleading” them, after selling $200 courses promoting weight loss programs.

One person wrote, “The issue isn’t about using GLP-1 or seeking help from a doctor for your mental health … The real problem is charging people for a weight loss program while hiding the true reason behind your own weight loss,” adding, "You’re taking people’s money, misleading them, and not being honest with yourself either."

Some even argued that Rohner's omission of the medication's role in her transformation was deceptive, leading to accusations of dishonest advertising.

Rohner's response

A day later, on April 24, Rohner posted a TikTok video in which she apologized and responded to the backlash.

She said, “I’m not asking for sympathy, I'm just trying to do the right thing, and I'm trying to be honest. Now I could have kept this a secret, I could have gone on and on for years and not told, and I don't want to do that.” Calling the internet “a scary place to be open and vulnerable,” Rohner continued, "I still wholeheartedly believe in tracking macros and the workouts that I do and my classes." She clarified that her decision to use the medication was based on personal health reasons, not a lack of faith in her program, saying, "I did not take a GLP-1 because I don't believe in my classes and macros wasn't working. I did it for other personal and health reasons to use as a tool to hit my goals. And if people felt deceived by that, I really truly am sorry."

Rohner emphasized that the medication was just one component of her overall health strategy, which included diet and exercise. She even offered refunds to individuals who had purchased her course in the past 11 months.