"Zepbound helped a lot:" Andy Richter opens up about his weight loss on Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars season 34 contestant Andy Richter, who recently got eliminated from the ABC show in the latest episode, premiered on November 11, 2025, during the show's 20th birthday celebration night.

The 59-year-old comedian, who was given the nickname The People's Princess, joined Julianne Hough on The Morning After Show, premiered on November 13, 2025, on YouTube, for one of the most vulnerable and heartfelt conversations yet.

The breakout superstar from Dancing with the Stars opened up about his weight loss journey, physical transformation on the show, and the judgmental challenges behind using  GLP-1s like Zepbound or Ozempic while he openly admitted using one of them, saying:

"Well, this show has been also a physical transformation for me because of because of the exercise and I've lost weight.  And also you know, thank you, Zepbound. Zepbound helped a lot."

Here's what the Dancing with the Stars contestant said about his weight loss

Andy Richter opened up about his weight loss and personal transformation during a candid conversation with Julianne Hough, explaining that Dancing With the Stars changed him in more ways than he expected.

He reflected on how physically demanding the show had been, saying that in previous times, he might have said that the physical transformation happened because of the exercise, and he had lost weight while training.

But Richter did not shy away from acknowledging the role weight-loss medication played in that process, admitting that he used a drug called Zepbound that helped him a lot further, noting that he found the shame surrounding GLP-1 medications silly.

He went on to clarify what Zepbound actually was, describing it as one of the semaglutides… an Ozempic kind of thing, adding:

"I don’t have any qualms about using science to help me over something."

Richter compared the criticism around GLP-1 medications to the reactions he received when he first went on antidepressants in the late ’80s and faced criticism from many of his friends, who were really shaming and warned him the medication would change him. explaining:

"It's the same when I started taking anti-depressants back in the late 80s. I had friends that were like really shaming. Yeah. Yeah. like come on, you know, it's going to change you and all this stuff. And it the way that people talk about these weight loss drugs, it's the same thing."

He pointed out that people talk about weight-loss drugs in the same way, and expressed his belief that people should let them have medications that help them get over their problems.

As he continued reflecting on his time on Dancing With the Stars, sharing how the experience reshaped his commitment to fitness, he added,

‘Oh, that was good for me. I really, I’m going to really stick to sort of a regimen of exercise and staying active.’” But now, he insisted, “I say it now and I mean it."

He explained that the show pushed him into a new mindset, adding that now, as the show is finished, he is back in the gym testing himself, noting:

Now it’s like when this show is done, knees willing, I’m back in the gym. I haven’t needed to do anything but dance.  I’m curious as to like when I get back on an elliptical, like how much—how long I can go and how much higher I can do the resistance and all this stuff.

Richter also acknowledged how viewers might relate to his journey, imagining people thinking that,

They can look at him and go Hey, I could do that. If he can do that, I could do that…

Getting vulnerable, Richter admitted that his biggest challenges were not physical, but emotional, admitting his older insecurities resurfaced:

I had this like resistance. I just ultimately realized I’m just afraid. This is just me being afraid. This is just me being insecure, and it's lots of fat kid. There's a lot of fat kid that I had to get through that is still there.

He became emotional when he credited his partner Emma Slater for helping him push through, saying:

I might choke up, but none of this would happen without her.

In the end, Richter said the entire experience was physically transformative and left him feeling more capable than he had in years. He remembered thinking early on that he wouldn’t be able to cut it, but two months later, the constant training and all the physical activity had made him feel better about himself.

He added with a laugh and a burst of confidence,

“I definitely felt like, ‘Well, I’m older now, I can’t do as much as I used to.’ And now, I’m like, ‘Yes you can, you lazy bum.’ I just feel like a better person now. I feel more alive.

Stay tuned for more updates.