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An online store has jumped on the Ozempic craze by releasing a “sexy” semaglutide injection costume just in time for Halloween.
Yandy, an American online retailer, is offering the “Sooo Snatched Costume” on its website, inspired by the rising popularity of weight loss injections. “Everyone is doing it,” the costume description reads. “Jump on that semaglutide bandwagon in Yandy’s Sooo Snatched Costume.”
The blue and red tank-style dress, printed with the words “Snatched: Semaglutide Injection,” comes with a pillbox hat meant to resemble a semaglutide injector syringe.
“Remember consult your doctor before you head outside wearing this costume side effects could be humorous,” read the listing.
The “Sooo Snatched Costume” was originally listed on the Yandy site for $39.95, but is currently on sale for $23.97.
The unconventional Halloween costume comes amid the growing use of once-weekly semaglutide injections, which have become widely popular for their “off-label” weight loss side effects. Ozempic, an FDA-approved medication for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, works by mimicking the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) hormone to regulate blood sugar levels and slow down the rate at which food leaves the stomach – often creating the feeling of fullness.
In addition to Ozempic, prescription medications Wegovy and Mounjaro have also risen in popularity for their weight loss side effects. Wegovy is another semaglutide injection specifically approved for the treatment of obesity and weight loss, while Mounjaro is the first diabetes drug to target a second hormone, GIP.
Many celebrities have since admitted to using weight loss medication, such as Oprah Winfrey and Kelly Clarkson. However, as Ozempic has risen in popularity, it’s also created a global shortage of the drug needed for people with Type 2 diabetes – so much so that some semaglutide injections cost up to $1,500 per month.
This isn’t the first time that Yandy has raised eyebrows with its topical Halloween costumes. In 2018, the online retailer faced backlash for selling a sexualized Handmaid’s Tale outfit for Halloween. Yandy had dubbed the Handmaid’s Tale-inspired costume the “Brave Red Maiden,” selling it for $65 before removing the costume from its website.
“Yandy always has stood, and will continue to stand, at the forefront of encouraging our customers to ‘own your sexy,’” the brand said in its apology. “Over the last few hours, it has become obvious that our ‘Yandy Brave Red Maiden Costume’ is being seen as a symbol of women’s oppression, rather than an expression of women’s empowerment.”
“This is unfortunate, as it was not our intention on any level. Our initial inspiration to create the piece was through witnessing its use in recent months as a powerful protest image,” they said. “Given the sincere, heartfelt response, supported by numerous personal stories we’ve received, we are removing the costume from our site.”
In 2020, the online retailer also released a “sexy hand sanitizer” costume amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The outfit simply consisted of a mint green bodysuit printed with a fake hand sanitizer logo that read, ‘Yandy hand sanitizer. Kills 99.99 percent of germs,’ and a bottle of hand sanitizer for a total of $69.95.
Pilar Quintana-Williams – Yandy’s vice president of merchandising – told Business Insider at the time that the brand simply aimed to bring “humor” and “lightheartedness” to Halloween.
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