Oprah Winfrey has announced that she will be leaving WeightWatchers

Oprah Winfrey is leaving WeightWatchers after nine years on the board, pledging to give the National Museum of African American History and Culture financial interest.

Oprah Winfrey said that, after nine years on the WeightWatchers board of directors, she is leaving the organization. She also pledged to donate her financial interest in the weight-loss endeavor to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The news that Winfrey made late on Wednesday caused shares of WeightWatchers to plummet. The company's shares, which hit a high of $40 in 2021, fell 17% on Thursday morning to $3.18 in early trading.

Winfrey's 2015 appointment to WeightWatchers increased the company's profile significantly; shares more than doubled soon after the deal was announced. However, in light of the trend toward so-called GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic, which rely on hormones to regulate hunger and have assisted people in losing excess weight, WeightWatchers and other diet companies, have had difficulties in recent years.

The early 1960s-founded weight loss company has suffered a decline in its financial performance in recent years. It lost $112 million in 2023, while its revenue fell by nearly 15% to $889.6 million from the year before.

According to financial data provider FactSet, Winfrey owns around 1.3 million shares or 1.4% of the company's shares. Her initial investment of $43.2 million for 6.4 million shares is much less than her ownership of roughly $4.1 million at the current market price.