“I was an addict for all practical purposes, that I had never stuck to a real diet, that I’d never stuck to a real exercise program, and that when confronted by my doctor and the doctor said if you don’t make changes, you will die. I had no choice. When you hear people say, oh, you took the easy way out, I would have longed for an easy way. It was not an easy way. It was this — the hardest struggle of my whole entire life and I still struggle.”

Star Jones, discussing her gastric bypass surgery with Oprah on a special weight-loss episode airing Wednesday.

I’m not a giant Star Jones fan, but I’m glad she’s out there saying this. I’m firmly of the belief that many people who are obese suffer from an addiction to food, as psychologically powerful as any addiction. You can’t effectively address the disease JUST by putting someone on a diet, in the same way that you can’t effectively treat alcoholism by handing someone a Diet Coke. There’s much deeper work to be done before a person can hope to be successful in the long term.

It’s obviously a huge issue in this country, and I feel like the longer we treat it like these people just need to find a diet that works without addressing the — excuse the pun — giant elephant of addiction in the room, the longer we’ll continue to see obesity-related illnesses and expenses on the rise. So, ya know, good for you, Star.

Or do the hats fight? I get so confused sometimes.

Check out this audio of someone calling into Star Jones’ radio show to ask “How fat are you, Star Jones, and is your husband gay?” Star Jones retorts with a mostly incoherent rant about how this caller was obviously holding up his end of a bet and how he “couldn’t get into the schools that my husband graduated from.” Nowhere in there, of course, is a rebuttal of the implicit statement that her husband is gay.

Thanks to Pop on the Pop for the heads-up.