Macy Gray, 56, reveals brutal Ozempic side effect that kept her ‘up all night’ – as she admits to taking weight-loss drug over fears she’d look ‘fat on TV’

Macy Gray has opened up about how she was in so much pain after taking Ozempic that she became constipated and couldn’t sleep.

The 56-year-old I Try singer admitted she turned to the popular weight loss drug in a last-ditch effort to shed pounds after “gaining a lot of weight” in recent years.

Macy candidly admitted that she is a vain person and that she was afraid of looking “fat on TV” ahead of filming for MTV reality show The Surreal Life.

In episode two of The Surreal Life, Macy, real name Natalie McIntyre, complained that the injection had bothered her so much that she was “up all night.”

Speaking to co-stars Kim Zolciak and Johnny Weir about her uncomfortable ordeal, she said, “Oh man, my stomach hurts. I’m just really constipated.

‘I took Ozempic. I can’t go to the bathroom and I’ve been awake all night.’

Kim, 46, a former Real Housewives of Atlanta star, joked at the time: “Ozempic does that.”

“It hurt last night,” Macy said, to which Kim warned her, “You have to be careful, you know.”

Macy added: “I’m going on tour after this, so I wanted to lose the weight really quickly.”

Macy explained in her confessional that she reached out to Ozempic to lose some weight ahead of her tour across the country.

She said: ‘I’m actually a bit of a vain person. I’ve put on a lot of weight over the last few years and this is exactly when everyone starts talking about this Ozempic.

So I thought, okay, I’m not doing it the right way, let me see if I can get one of those Ozempic.

I actually tried to pull it off [the weight] ‘For the show, because I didn’t want to be super fat on TV, but now we’re here.’

Former Real Housewives member Kim Zolciak warned Macy to be ‘cautious’ about taking Ozempic

Macy said in her confessional, “I’m actually a bit of a vain person,” adding that she’s “gained a lot of weight over the last few years.”

Viewers of Surreal Life were shocked by Macy’s side effects and saw it as a “cautionary tale.”

On X someone said, “Damn, Ozempic is fucking Macy.”

Another wrote: ‘Let Macy Gray be a warning not to take Ozempic.’

A third wrote: ‘I definitely wouldn’t have considered Macy Gray the Olympic type.’

‘I can’t do the Ozempic. Especially not when it makes going to the toilet so difficult,’ said a fourth.

Many celebrities have admitted to using drugs like Ozempic to lose weight, including Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, Sharon Osbourne, Chelsea Handler and Robbie Williams.

Many celebrities like Macy (left in 2023 and right in 2018) have admitted to using drugs like Ozempic, including Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, Sharon Osbourne and Chelsea Handler

Ozempic contains the active ingredient semaglutide and although it is classed as an anti-diabetic drug, it is used by some people for weight loss

In June 2023, comedian Amy Schumer admitted that she had used the drug the year before, but had stopped taking it due to side effects.

“I was one of those people who felt so sick,” she said.

Ozempic contains the active ingredient semaglutide and although it is considered an anti-diabetic drug, it is used by some people for weight loss.

The drug works by mimicking a hormone that the body uses to tell us that our stomach is full and we should stop eating, suppressing our appetite and slowing down overall digestion.

However, this can also activate the so-called gastrocolic reflex.

This essentially means that the stomach sends a signal to the brain to make room for it later, as a large amount of food has already been consumed.

This signals the colon and rectum to empty their contents.

But if the digestive process is not fully completed, which is more common with an artificial signal such as with drugs like semaglutide, this can lead to explosive diarrhea.