50 Cent denies using Ozempic to lose weight

50 Cent has denied using Ozempic to lose 40 pounds (18 kilograms).

The In Da Club rapper, real name Curtis Jackson, has shut down speculation that his slimmer figure is the result of the controversial drug. In a new Instagram video, he insisted he dropped 40 pounds by hitting the gym and giving high-energy performances on tour.

"Everybody talking about weight loss. I was in the gym. I was working the f**k out, man. Who says Ozempic?" he said on Wednesday. "I was running, I was running, I was doing what I had to do. You seen me on tour. I (was) running around."

The 48-year-old revealed that he has gone from 253lb (115kg) to 210lb (95kg) thanks to his workout routine.

The hip-hop star embarked on The Final Lap Tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin between July and December last year. He has two more shows coming up in the U.S. in March.

In early January, he declared he was "practicing abstinence" this year, and he recently told his Instagram followers that his pledge was already paying off.

"I'm focused man, practicing abstinence is helping me train harder," he wrote. "I feel great I think more people should try it."

Ozempic, a medicine designed to treat type 2 diabetes, is sometimes used by celebrities and influencers to lose weight in a short space of time.