Health

Fat-busting wonder drugs loved by celebs are taking their toll in the bedroom by ruining people’s sex lives.

Men are reporting what might be the most embarrassing side effect yet from drugs like Ozempic…erectile dysfunction, Knewz.com can reveal.

Social media pages dedicated to medications used for weight loss are peppered with accounts from men experiencing trouble performing in the bedroom believed to stem from low testosterone caused by the blockbuster drugs.

Women are also reporting despite shifting the pounds, their libidos have tanked as psychologically there has been a shift in their relationship.

Stars like Sharon Osbourne, Kathy Bates, Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk and Rebel Wilson have all used Ozempic.

The first research related to the subject goes back to 2018, when a team of Swedish epidemiologists published a study of the impact of bariatric surgery on marriage.

After surgery, they found married couples were more likely than those in a control group to divorce or separate, whereas single people were more likely to marry.

In couples “there’s such a drive to keep things the same,” warned Robyn Pashby, a clinical psychologist who specializes in issues related to weight loss or gain – adding: “When one person changes, it changes the system. It does break that unspoken contract.”

One couple where the woman lost 60lbs after taking Zepound revealed they hadn’t had sex since she began the course more than a year ago.

The woman said: “It never occurred to us that the treatment would alter the dynamic of our sex. I thought losing weight would create desire, not kill it.”

Many men looking to lose weight using drugs have been surprised at their loss of ability to perform sexually and have turned to asking their fellow users on Reddit for advice on how to beat the side effects, with one saying: “I have been on Ozempic for 3 months. TT level dropped very fast and I am on treatment to fix it now.

“Has anyone had any experiences similar to this?!”

Another man, 23, who has been on semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, for five weeks said he had never experienced erectile dysfunction before.

He said: “I have recently begun seeing someone and have dealt with a complete loss in erection now.

“The first time worked out because I ended up getting and maintaining an erection after an hour of failed attempts.

“But the second time, I had an erection while we were about to get it on and then just like that, done.

“It’s a little embarrassing having to troubleshoot this in front of a new partner.”

And another said: “Taking Ozempic 1.5 weekly, had complete loss of erection. Dr prescribed Viagra did not work at all. Stopped Ozempic on my own, three weeks later working normally.”

Just a handful of studies have shown men taking the drugs were more likely to experience low testosterone, something that has baffled doctors because weight loss typically regulates the hormone‘s levels.

Weight loss is, however, known to decrease levels of circulating estrogen, the female sex hormone, lower levels of which have helped many women at risk of breast cancer and those with polycystic ovary syndrome,

Meanwhile, weight loss has generally been associated with boosted testosterone levels, with one study showing weight loss can improve testosterone levels in overweight middle-aged men by almost 50 percent.

Wendy Williams is completely fine and is being held hostage at a wellness facility, according to the former TV host in her latest claims.

The 60-year-old has continued to push back against her conservatorship and is begging for her freedom, Knewz.com can reveal.

A source spilled: “They don’t believe for one minute Wendy is so debilitated that she needs to be shackled to a virtual prison when she’s surrounded by old folks, and has nothing to do but sit and stare out the window.”

Williams was placed under a court-ordered guardianship in 2022, after Wells Fargo froze her bank accounts and claimed she was “incapacitated” – she is said to have just $15 to her name.

However, according to the former TV host she wants her independence.

Last month, Williams called into radio show The Breakfast Club, and said at the time she could not leave her current location.

“I feel like I’m trapped in a prison,” she said through tears as her longtime friend Charlamagne Tha God listened.

She added: “My life is f—– up”.

Williams said of the facility she is in: “I’m in this place where the people are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s. There’s something wrong with these people here on this floor.

“I keep the door closed. I watch TV. I listen to the radio. I watch the window. I sit here, and my life goes by.”

Under the terms of her conservatorship, overseen by estate lawyer Sabrina Morrissey, Williams cannot receive calls, needs someone to go out and get her supplies, and spends her days in a small apartment with just a TV and bed.

Despite her current predicament, this new source claims Williams is capable of so much more following her radio interview.

They said: “She didn’t show any signs of dementia that the people who control her guardianship says she suffers from.

“Her family is determined to set her free from the chains of guardianship that bind her and make sure her finances are protected.”

The insider added: “Wendy’s family realizes she has some issues – but she’s not crazy. Wendy’s words on that program put a fire under them. This fight has just begun.”

Williams, who has been suffering from Graves’ disease, lymphedema, and alcohol abuse, among other issues, recently made a rare public appearance when she attended her only son’s graduation in Miami in December.

Williams, getting around in a mobile scooter, was later seen yelling at her caretakers at a restaurant.

In a video recorded by the We in Miami podcast team, the Wendy Williams Show alum screamed and accused her caretakers of leaving her scooter in the middle of a street as the group left the restaurant.

While seated, Williams yelled: “And then both of you walked away leaving my s— in the middle of the street like this!

“Just get the car, please. Make sure it’s the right car.”

She raged at the time: “This (scooter) cost a f—ing mint motherf—–. They just left my s— out there.”

While hosting her popular daytime talk show, Williams was known for her blistering opinions on all things celebrity. And she has not lost her skill as she recently blasted Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs who is currently behind bars and waiting on his trial date on numerous charges.

Williams said on The Breakfast Club: “Diddy will go to prison for life, people. You don’t know things that I knew about Diddy back in the day, and you wanna know what? It’s about time, people. It is about time. Diddy done.”

Another deadly global pandemic may be brewing in China as a rampaging virus is seriously sickening vulnerable youngsters and seniors and packing hospitals across the communist country – sparking fears America could be next, Knewz.com can reveal.

The Asian nation’s officials are expressing concerns that a new disease to rival COVID-19 has emerged among their 1.41 billion citizens. They insist the disturbing spike of illness and its climbing death toll are due to human metapneumovirus (HMPV) – a 60-year-old respiratory bug typically marked by mild symptoms.

Yet many doctors are pointing out Chinese virology experts have yet to provide crucial genomic data that would confirm their claims.

“The Chinese need to come clean,” said New York internist Dr Stuart Fischer.

“The world cannot abide a repeat of what happened in 2019 and 2020 with COVID.

“We’ve already witnessed the deadly consequences of the Chinese not being totally forthright in such situations.”

China has suffered withering global criticism for its handling of the COVID pandemic’s earliest days, when local experts misdiagnosed the dangerous virus and national officials suppressed a public declaration of its existence until Jan. 20, 2020 – six weeks after the first cases were reported.

As previously reported, evidence shows Covid began secretly circulating in China’s Wuhan after its creation at a biological weapons laboratory in the city.

The mutating virus ultimately killed more than 7 million people worldwide and sickened millions more.

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, a renowned national security expert, said he “wouldn’t be shocked” if this new outbreak was ALSO linked to a lab leak.

“The Chinese are hell-bent on global domination and have an active and robust chemical weapons program,” Vallely said. “And the security protocols at their infectious disease laboratories often leave very much to be desired.”

Like Covid, HMPV is spread through aerosol droplets and can cause a cough, fever and nasal congestion – as well as serious respiratory issues such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis. More troubling, there is no cure – and a protective vaccine has yet to be developed.

Infectious diseases specialist Sanjaya Senanayake, an associate professor of medicine at the Australian National University, warned it is “vital” for China to share its data on the current outbreak in a timely manner.

Senanayake added: “This includes epidemiologic data about who is getting infected. Also, we will need genomic data confirming that HMPV is the culprit and that there aren’t any significant mutations of concern.”

Donald Trump‘s war on health departments may have devastating impacts according to one top doctor.

Dr Stephanie Psaki believes the Marburg virus, a disease that kills up to 88 percent of people it infects, may be on its way to America due to the president’s decision, Knewz.com can reveal.

Dr. Psaki – a health advisor to former president Joe Biden – talked about the potential dangers of the disease coming to America now that there is currently an outbreak of the disease in Tanzania and the CDC and FDA have had their hands tied by Trump.

She said: “As I’ve watched the Trump administration announce a series of actions that undermine our ability to detect and respond to biological threats… I wonder: Who is protecting the American people from Marburg right now?

“The Marburg outbreak has continued to evolve since the transition last week, but we have little visibility into what is happening. Scientific experts across the US government have lost access to many of the tools they would normally use to protect Americans.”

The Marburg virus – known as one of the deadliest diseases around – will have patients first experiencing symptoms including a headache, a fever, and vomiting, which will then lead to bleeding from their eyes, ears, and nose.

The disease can spread between people via contact with bodily fluids such as blood and feces.

Dr. Psaki called out the Trump administration, urging the former reality star to stick to the plan when it comes to dealing with potential outbreaks.

She said: “The Marburg outbreak has continued to evolve since the transition last week, but we have little visibility into what is happening. Scientific experts across the US government have lost access to many of the tools they would normally use to protect Americans.”

Dr. Psaki added: “Now is not the time to demolish our well-oiled machine [for preventing outbreaks].

“Instead, the United States should do what it does best — drive an effective and efficient response to stop outbreaks at their source. Because that’s the best way to save lives around the world, and to protect our homeland too.”

On January 20, Trump announced he would withdraw from the WHO, replace the US Global Health Security Strategy for 2024, and even place a 90-day pause on foreign assistance.

The 78-year-old also paused the CDC and FDA from making public announcements and blocked the National Institutes of Health from funding new research.

Acting Health Secretary Dr. Dorothy Fink said the directive would be in effect through February 1.

She further explained: “As the new Administration considers its plan for managing the federal policy and public communications processes, it is important that the President’s appointees and designees have the opportunity to review and approve any regulations, guidance documents, and other public documents and communications (including social media).”

Meanwhile, Dr. Richard Besser, who served as acting CDC director in 2009, recently blasted the order, and said: “Cutting off communications from the CDC puts our health at risk and prevents our doctors, nurses, and public health leaders from doing their jobs.”

Kathy Bates has dangerously shrunk to a bag of bones – leaving fans alarmed, said sources, who confide that TV‘s new Matlock has dumped a ton of weight and become obsessed with being skinny, Knewz.com can reveal.

Sources added friends are begging the 76-year-old star of such hit flicks as Misery and Adam Sandler‘s Waterboy to stop dieting to extremes and start snacking again instead.

“People are worried she’s gone past the point of being healthy,” an insider said.

“She doesn’t look good – she’s dumped a ton of weight and she’s gaunt. She’s shaky at times and seems kind of out of it, quite frankly.”

Known for her plumpish physique in such movie classics as Fried Green Tomatoes, Bates revealed her type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 2017 prompted her to lose a whopping 100 pounds by changing her diet and lifestyle – dropping the final 20lbs with the help of weight-loss drug Ozempic.

“You know, they always say: ‘Oh, you don’t have enough willpower,'” she said. “I just changed that word to determination. It was my choice.

“There’s been a lot of talk that I just was able to do this because of Ozempic. But… this was hard work for me, especially during the pandemic.”

According to our source, Kathy’s loved ones fear she has turned weight loss into an obsession.

“She’s losing too much now,” the insider added. “By all accounts, she’s not eating the right nutrients and what she is eating is not enough.

“Her eating is practically nonexistent. It’s wonderful that she lost weight and changed her lifestyle after her diabetes diagnosis – that would scare anybody into action – but she still looks fragile.

“Her friends are worried she’s putting herself in a precarious position by starving herself for vanity purposes and not eating much for fear of putting the weight back on.

“People wish she’d stop trying so hard. She doesn’t even look like herself.”

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) backs the COVID-19 lab leak theory, Knewz.com can reveal.

According to an assessment by new CIA director John Ratcliffe, the agency has “low confidence” in this conclusion, adding that there isn’t sufficient evidence to easily resolve the ongoing debate over the origin of the pandemic.

The evaluation, declassified and released by Ratcliffe, was conducted during the Biden administration using existing evidence available to the CIA.

The analysis includes a closer look at high-security labs in Wuhan, China.

Ratcliffe, a proponent of the lab leak theory, emphasized the importance of the CIA’s involvement in the discussion surrounding COVID-19’s origin, highlighting potential implications for U.S.-China relations.

Ratcliffe said: “One of the things that I’ve talked about a lot is addressing the threat from China on a number of fronts, and that goes back to why a million Americans died and why the Central Intelligence Agency has been sitting on the sidelines for five years in not making an assessment about the origins of COVID. That’s a day-one thing for me.”

He added: “I think our intelligence, our science and our common sense all really dictate that the origins of Covid was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But the CIA has not made that assessment or at least not made that assessment publicly.

“So I’m going to focus on that and look at the intelligence and make sure that the public is aware that the agency is going to get off the sidelines.”

On Saturday, January 25, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China’s U.S. embassy, released a statement, claiming: “We firmly oppose the politicization and stigmatization of the source of the virus, and once again call on everyone to respect science and stay away from conspiracy theories.”

The search for the origin of the pandemic, which has caused millions of deaths worldwide and led to extensive lockdowns and disruptions, is crucial to prevent future outbreaks.

Determining whether the virus escaped from a lab could lead to enhanced regulations on risky virus research while identifying a wet market as the source might prompt efforts to improve security in such places.

In 2023, in response to a statement by then-FBI director Christopher Wray, which indicated the virus might have escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, Mao Ning, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said: “By rehashing the lab-leak theory, the U.S. will not succeed in discrediting China, and instead, it will only hurt its own credibility.

“We urge the U.S. to respect science and facts … stop turning origin tracing into something about politics and intelligence, and stop disrupting social solidarity and origins cooperation.”

Joe Exotic doesn’t want anything more to do with his cancer treatment while he sits behind bars.

The former reality star has been battling cancer – while pleading with those in higher power for a pardon – and now he’s had it with treatment, Knewz.com can reveal.

A source said: “Joe has not received any proper results from his scan in May and blood tests are late but last blood tests shows a significant drop in PSA levels.

“He is very tired and drained and says as soon as he leaves (prison) he will be seeking professional doctors and treatment – but his immune system is all but completely ruined.”

The insider concluded: “Add the factor of the awful food the inmates are given and poor living conditions, it’s hell to be sick in there. I know everyday is a struggle for Joe, and he has told me himself that he will not go through anymore cancer treatment while in prison.”

The 61-year-old – real name Joseph Allen Maldonado – is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence after he was convicted in a murder-for-hire plot of zookeeper rival Carole Baskin twice.

The Tiger King star told reporters in October he is “trying to stay alive, but it’s hard.”

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021, Maldonado revealed he was informed it was “in remission,” but then received the sad news about a possible lung cancer diagnosis.

He explained that after receiving chest ex-rays, CT scans, and a PET scan over the last year, spots showed up in his left lung in the results.

While waiting his biopsy, the Netflix notable claimed the cancer diagnosis “advanced” due to “stress” from being in solitary confinement, as well as “the mold and everything else you’re living in.”

“If this is how I have to live for the next 11 years if I don’t win my appeal, I pray to God I hope I go home in a body bag soon,” Maldonado said at the time.

“You wouldn’t believe how many people die in here before they get care.”

Maldonado has pleaded to numerous politicians to pardon him including new Attorney General Pam Bondi, Matt Gaetz, former President Joe Biden, and Donald Trump himself.

He recently said: “All I have to say is, I hope that President Trump is listening because I have Joe Rogan, Matt Gaetz, Jerry Jones and half the world speaking for me in hopes he lets me go home some how, some way.”

Meanwhile, Maldonado’s team continues to fight for him as his lawyer, Levi McCathern, claims the convictions against his client should be overturned because of “inconsistencies” in the case against him.

McCathern claimed: “Joe Exotic did not hire anyone to murder anyone. He was convicted of a murder-for-hire, but there’s a problem with that. No one was killed, no one was paid and no one, except for Joe, was ever charged.”

Maldonado is scheduled to be released from prison on March 18, 2036.

Oprah Winfrey is spilling the truth about “thin people” after her diet drug journey.

Knewz.com can reveal the media mogul, who recently confessed to using a GLP-1 medication to shed 50 pounds, now admits what she once believed was “willpower” was actually just a break from relentless hunger cravings.

In 2023, the 70-year-old TV icon came clean about using a type 2 diabetes drug after decades of struggling with fluctuating weight.

Fans were stunned when Winfrey revealed the truth, especially since she had previously rejected the idea of using weight-loss meds and criticized them as an “easy way out.”

Winfrey, now close to her goal weight of 160 pounds, opened up on her podcast about using the medication and the insights it has given her on “thin people” while discussing the drug’s function and safety with Dr. Ania Jastreboff.

She confessed: “‘One of the things that I realized the very first time I took a GLP-1 was that all these years I thought that thin people had more willpower.

“They ate better foods. They were able to stick to it longer. They never had a potato chip.”

After starting a GLP-1 medication, Winfrey realized what she had considered “willpower” was actually the lack of constant hunger, or “food noise.”

These medications, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, reduce cravings and slow digestion, helping to curb overeating and prevent weight gain.

She continued: “And then I realized the very first time I took the GLP-1 that, they’re not even thinking about it.

“They’re eating when they’re hungry and they’re stopping when they’re full.”

Winfrey noted the traditional approach to eating “doesn’t work” for those struggling with obesity, which she called a “disease.”

Reflecting on her career, she recalled being “publicly humiliated” for her weight, with tabloids and comedians regularly mocking her.

She admitted: “Every week [I was] exploited by the tabloids, anytime any comedian wanted to make fun or make a joke about it, they would make a joke about it.

“And I accepted it because I thought I deserved it.”

However, she no longer believes she deserved such treatment.

After previously denying the use of weight-loss drugs, Winfrey declared in December 2023 she was “done with the shaming” and openly admitted to using a GLP-1.

The talk show host also added regular exercise to her routine to help shed the extra weight.

She told People: “I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing.

“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for.

“I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”

Winfrey revealed she started taking the medication before Thanksgiving, knowing she’d have “two solid weeks of eating,” and credited it for gaining only half a pound instead of eight.

At the time, she was seven pounds from her goal weight but emphasized it wasn’t about the number.

Winfrey also shared her heaviest weight was 237 pounds and that knee surgery in 2021 sparked her health transformation to live a “more vital and vibrant life.”

The star revealed that her health routine now includes eating by 4 pm, drinking a gallon of water daily, using WeightWatchers, and going on regular hikes.

The U.S. military has been accused of hiding a shameful secret about service members as the number of veterans and active-duty personnel who are dying by their own hands dwarfs the number of those dying in combat, Knewz.com can reveal.

Following the deadly New Year’s Day Cybertruck bombing in Las Vegas carried out by a highly decorated Army Green Beret, military insiders and veterans’ advocates have once again called on the nation’s brass to find a solution to the suicide crisis plaguing U.S. service members.

Jeremy Perkins, a veterans’ advocate from Ohio who runs Dress Right Dress Inc., a nonprofit working with vets on mental health services and substance use disorders, said: “Something must be done.

“This individual is just one of the thousands of vets and active-duty service members who die by suicide each year. It’s just that in this case, it happened to make national news.”

Tragically, as many as 24 veterans die by suicide every day, according to a 2022 report published by America’s Warrior Partnership and Duke University – and another 20 die from drug overdoses.

In all, the White House said more than 65,000 vets have killed themselves since 2020, while fewer than 5,000 service members died in combat during the same time frame.

The distressing figures do not include the around 500 active-duty service members who take their own lives each year.

Derrick Iozzio, who runs El Paso-based Catch 22 Peer Support, a nonprofit working with veterans, said: “The truth is that suicide rates among active-duty personnel and veterans has been growing for years so that the percentages now far outstrip those for the general population.”

He continued: “If you’re a vet in this country, you’re 72 percent more likely to take your own life than if you did not serve, and if you’re active-duty, the suicide rate is double that for civilians.”

The deadly trend is said to be a confluence of factors including the scars soldiers carry from the battlefield, trouble transitioning to civilian life and the stigma associated with seeking mental health support.

Iozzio added: “When you see someone wounded or killed in combat, at that moment you don’t have time to stop and grieve. It’s only later, once you get home, that you being to process it all.

“I experienced it myself. I still feel those things on a daily basis, and it’s very hard.”

Veterans’ advocates said the growing trend of soldier suicides is often ignored and addressed publicly only when a catastrophe like one that happened outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day occur.

In that case, authorities said 37-year-old U.S. Army solider Matthew Livelsberger – who deployed to Afghanistan twice and was currently on leave from his post in Germany – detonated a Tesla Cybertruck packed with canisters of gasoline and fireworks mortars moments after shooting himself in the head. No one else was injured in the disturbing incident.

Authorities said the devoted father was likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and that he had recently sought help from the Army for depression.

Spencer L. Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI‘s Las Vegas field office, said: “We are also aware that there were potential other family issues. It ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide.”

Meanwhile, Livelsberger’s ex-girlfriend, military nurse Alicia Arritt, revealed the five-time Bronze Star recipient had complained of having had concussions and memory loss and was likely suffering from a traumatic brain injury.

Nicole Kidman may be quitting Hollywood for good.

Knewz.com can reveal the A-lister actress has continued on with her busy schedule despite the death of her mom, sparking concern Kidman isn’t properly grieving.

During an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the Babygirl star revealed what her mom Janelle’s final words to her were before passing.

She said: “I was going to get on a plane and go back to see her. And she was like, ‘Maybe wait a minute. Because I think, you know, you just need to take care of yourself right now, Nikki.'”

“I say that to other people in the world, and particularly women. I think we tend not to take care of ourselves. We’ll take care of everybody else, but the last person is here,” Kidman added.

Janelle died in September hours before Nicole was awarded the Best Actress award for her role in Babygirl at the Venice Film Festival, forcing her to leave the event early.

Now, a source says those words made a big impact on the Oscar winner: “Nicole will always be haunted by her mother’s words and she’s finally ready to heed her advice. She’s been working hard ever since she was 16.”

Despite a booked 2025, including working on season 3 of Big Little Lies, releasing Welcome to Holland with co-star Gael García Bernal, and also focusing on a sequel to Practical Magic with Sandra Bullock, Kidman is ready to take a step back after an iconic, and very long, career.

“… She’s looking at a short-term hiatus and eventually semi-retirement where she can dip in and out for a special project like Meryl Streep,” the source claimed.

“She’s hoping to wrangle a six-month break.”

The insider explained: “She’ll be back, of course. She gets offered roles that are jus too good to turn down. But for now the focus is getting some quality family time in. The girls are excited for Nicole to just be mom.”

Kidman, 57, and her husband, Keith Urban, share two daughters: Sunday, 16, and Faith, 14. She is also a mom to Bella and Conner with ex-husband Tom Cruise.

Talks of a possible Hollywood exit come as some believe busy Kidman is burned out.

A previous source said: “Lots of jokes have been made this past year about how much of a workaholic Nicole is, and it is starting to get a bit out of hand. She needs a break.

“It’d be one thing if Nicole was doing fun, light-hearted comedies or taking on supporting roles. But most of the stuff she’s got coming up is heavy material and more often than not she’s the lead.”

“Surely it’s going to take a toll. She’s not superwoman,” the insider said.

The movie star’s thinning looks have also caused some concern, especially after her appearances at the Gotham Awards and 2025 National Board of Review Gala.

According to an insider: “Everyone wants to know what’s wrong with her. Even those close to her are concerned. The truth is, Nicole has been working herself ragged, and it’s taking a toll.”

“It’s as if she fears she’ll lose the career she worked so hard for. She’s shown no signs of slowing down…” the source said at the time, before Kidman’s retirement plans came to light.