Chanel West Coast’s new MTV reality show, “The West Coast Hustle,” details her decision to undergo liposuction after giving birth to daughter Bowie.
In an exclusive interview with Pvnew’s “Virtual Reali-Tea,” the former “Ridiculousness” co-host, 35, explains why she chose the “rough” plastic surgery procedure over Ozempic, Hollywood’s trendy weight-loss drug, to aid in her slimdown.
“I’m really weird about … medications and stuff. I’ve heard all these things like, if you stop taking the Ozempic, you could possibly gain more weight. And I’m like, ‘That’s definitely not what I want,’” Chanel shares.
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“I don’t want to be stuck having to take something like that for the rest of my life, you know what I mean? So I was just never a fan.”
Ozempic, an FDA-approved prescription drug originally designed for Type II diabetes patients, is one of the brand names for semaglutide — which impacts the brain to maintain satiety and suppress one’s appetite.
Though a succession of public figures — from A-listers like Oprah Winfrey and Kelly Clarkson to “Real Housewives of New Jersey” stars Margaret Josephs, Dolores Catania, Jennifer Aydin and Jenn Fessler — have copped to taking such medication to shed pounds, Chanel felt lipo was a better fit for her.
“For everybody [Ozempic] works for, more power to you, dude. If it’s working for you and you feel great and it’s not effecting your health, then I’m happy for you,” she says.
“But I’m kind of scared of stuff like that. I think it’s funny that I wasn’t scared for lipo and then scared of that. But lipo’s like a one-time thing and it’s over.”
Chanel says she went under the knife just before filming commenced for her unscripted series last year. With more time in front of the camera compounded with her desire to revamp her music career, the “Cool Off” rapper felt pressure to reclaim her pre-pregnancy body.
“I have been a skinny person my whole life. I’m one of those people that, you know, I can kind of get away with eating my Taco Bell and In ’N Out and I was just always skinny. But after having a baby, my body just completely changed and I could tell,” she acknowledges.
“I knew I had this show coming out, I knew I was about to be back in the spotlight, I was about to be working hard on my music again.”
The mother of one — who welcomed 19-month-old Bowie with boyfriend Dom Fenison in November 2022 — also knew that she wanted to be transparent about her plastic surgery experience with fans.
“I was trying so hard to get back in shape the natural way as fast as I could but it wasn’t fast enough and I’m like, ‘Listen, my knees are killing me, I’ve got to get this weight off faster,’” she tells “Virtual Reali-Tea.”
“And I wanted to be open about getting the lipo and about that process, too, because it was rough.”
Chanel goes on to say that the surgery was more difficult to bear than the C-section she had during her delivery.
“Honestly, it was literally more rough than getting a C-section and giving birth. And a lot of people aren’t open about it. I’m like, ‘Dude, if more women were open about it, I might have not got it if I knew how rough it was going to be,’” she admits.
“But I wanted to be open about that and show people that yes, I’m getting this procedure and it’s going to help me be skinny faster. But it’s also rough and a lot to deal with.”
The musician feels grateful that she was able to rely on a home nurse during the grueling recovery process.
“When I came out of the surgery, Dom saw me … and he literally had a face like, ‘Wait. What? I’m not equipped to deal with this.’ And he immediately called my mom and was like, ‘We need to find a nurse because I don’t think I can take care of her,’” she recalls.
“And so it’s a very serious procedure, so I would just say to have the proper care if you’re going to go through something like that.”
“The West Coast Hustle” — which offers an intimate look at Chanel’s life as a first-time mom, plus the ups and downs of pursuing music as an independent artist — premieres Thursday, July 18, at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.
