By Jenni McKnight

Copyright hellomagazine

Kathy Bates has worked hard to achieve her 100lbs weight loss transformation. Over the last few years, the Matlock star overhauled her lifestyle and lost around 80lbs thanks to her diet changes before shifting the last 20lbs with the help of Ozempic after she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2017. Kathy feels better than ever and displayed her slimmed-down physique on the cover of Variety, looking sensational in a full-length black pleated skirt with a waist-cinching black velvet blazer, and a white silk shirt with black buttons.

The publication shared the images on Instagram, and fans went wild for Kathy’s “stunning” new appearance, with one commenting: “She looks so stunning, regal.” A second said: “What a goddess! Gorgeous photos.” A third added: “Looking better than ever!” It wasn’t just Kathy’s appearance that got fans talking; she also shared a defiant message to critics who have slammed her use of Ozempic.

“People say, ‘Well, it was the Ozempic,'” she told Variety of people who claimed her weight loss was due to the medication. “[Expletive] 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.

“When they said ‘diabetes,’ I figured out what to do to slowly, over 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,” she added.

During an appearance on CBS Mornings last October, Katy explained how her life has improved dramatically since her weight loss. “I feel like a different woman, I really do,” she began. “I look in the mirror and go ‘Oh, my gosh’. I went into my costume fittings, and I’m wearing a size ten, and it’s so different from being a 3X and being able to walk and move and pick things off the rack.”

She reiterated this during her interview with Variety, explaining how she was brought to tears after fitting into a designer dress her stylist brought her. “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,” she said.

“I just started crying and crying. I’m still figuring out what it’s like to be without all of that weight. 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.”

The Fried Green Tomatoes star touched on the negativity surrounding her Ozempic use in an interview with People last year. “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… It’s just very important to me to keep this going. I don’t want to slip.”