Robbie Williams claims weight-loss jabs are causing his vision to deteriorate. Photo / Getty Images
Robbie Williams has claimed that weight-loss jabs are making him go blind.
The singer, 51, said he wanted to warn people of the “potential risks” of the widely available jabs. He said he had been an early adopter of the drugs and claimed his vision had “been blurry for a while now, and it’s only getting worse”.
“I don’t believe it’s age – I believe it’s the jabs,” Williams told The Sun. “I went to an American football game the other night and the players were just blobs on a green field in front of me. And I was like, ‘what the f*** is happening?’.”
Williams said his vision had deteriorated so much that he had been unable to clearly see fans on his latest tour.
“Basically, I was looking in the direction of these women looking up at me, having this experience that’s quite obviously incredible to them, and little do they know I can’t see them.
“Of course it’s worrying and, by being honest today, obviously I want to warn people reading this of the potential risks, to make sure they do their research. But seriously, I’m that sick I’d probably stay on it until the sight in one eye has completely gone.”
Safety ‘a top priority’
Researchers from Harvard Medical School reported a potential link between the drug semaglutide – known better by the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy – and a condition causing vision impairment.
The researchers found that patients taking the drug for type 2 diabetes were four times more likely to be diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (Naion), a rare and untreatable eye condition that constricts blood flow to the optic nerve.
The study, which analysed more than 17,000 patients over six years, was published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology in July last year.
Novo Nordisk, the company that manufactures the drug, insisted patient safety was “a top priority” and the study had limitations, including its failure to consider whether patients smoked.
A spokesman said “Naion is not listed as a known adverse drug reaction. Semaglutide has been studied in large real-world evidence studies and robust clinical development programmes.”
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