Well-known Afrikaans YouTube personality responds to weight-loss report published on News24 and Rapport

Nuuspod host, Izak Du Plessis, has laughed off a report that he has received free weight-loss medication from Dr Tommie Smook and RXME in return for promotions.

On Sunday, Rapport published an article that Du Plessis and other Afrikaans celebrities received free injections from Dr Smook and Partners, and RXME.

Smook is a medical doctor and the core medical practitioner at Dr Smook & Partners, a metabolic health and medical weight management practice based in Bloemfontein.

RxME is the digital healthcare platform that manages and supports Dr Smook & Partners. It connects patients to a wider multidisciplinary clinical care team.

Smook and RxME specialise in treating obesity by using GLP-1 medication like semaglutide and tirzepatide.

They have been in the news, linked to a crackdown by South African health regulators on the booming market for compounded weight-loss injections.

Smook and his partner, Suzé Steyl, were detained at OR Tambo International Airport upon returning from a trip to China.

This detention followed a targeted raid by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and the South African Pharmacy Council at iDexis.

iDexis is a Pretoria-based compounding pharmacy and one of the primary suppliers manufacturing and distributing the compounded GLP-1 weight-loss jabs.

These semaglutide and tirzepatide injections are prescribed to tens of thousands of patients by Dr Smook & Partners.

Novo Nordisk, the patent holder of mainstream GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, launched legal action in the Gauteng High Court against iDexis.

They claim the pharmacy is producing unregistered, unapproved copies of their drugs and exploiting regulatory loopholes.

Rapport’s report about Izak Du Plessis and his response

On Sunday, 21 June 2026, Rapport and News24 reported that Du Plessis and other Afrikaans celebrities received free injections and Smook and RXME.

In return, the reports stated that they provided free marketing through their social media platforms to promote RXME.

“In February, Du Plessis conducted an almost-hour-long interview with Smook on his Nuuspod YouTube channel. RXME is also a sponsor of Nuuspod,” they reported.

“The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority previously told Rapport that Schedule 2 medicines and above may not be marketed in any way.”

Rapport added that it tried to contact Du Plessis numerous times to obtain his feedback, but was unsuccessful.

Du Plessis, a popular and beloved YouTube personality, responded to the reports, saying he was pleasantly surprised by the news of his weight loss.

“I am in Rapport, and I didn’t even know it. Someone else let me know about it during the night,” he said.

“Geez, I am so sorry that they no longer have a print edition. An online front page is just not the same as a paper one.”

“But thank you very much, Rapport, for giving Nuuspod free advertising out of the blue. Thank you very, very, very much.”

He also, tongue-in-cheek, thanked Rapport for upgrading his status from YouTuber to freelance journalist.

“I see the journalist who did the story supposedly tried to contact me multiple times. That’s news to me. Seems to me they don’t try very hard anymore,” he added.

“I won’t complain too much about that. Despite the terrible amount of factual errors, the story simply has too much marketing value to kick against it.”

“Thank you very much for thinking my free weight-loss medicine is a newsworthy story. Rapport is taking the lead here in the world of journalism.”

“You are rising above the rest, you hear. May other newspapers and news organisations follow you soon.”