The actress recalls a body-shaming moment she experienced while doing press for her 2011 hit comedy, 'Bridesmaids.'
Melissa McCarthy isn't here for your rude questions!
The 48-year-old actress covers InStyle's Badass Women issue, and in her accompanying interview with the magazine, she opens up about a body-shaming moment she experienced while doing press for her 2011 hit comedy, Bridesmaids.
"I won't mention names but ... he kept asking, 'Are you shocked that you actually work in this business at your tremendous size?'" said McCarthy, adding that the journalist who asked her the question later lost his job. "He was like, 'Oh, your tremendous size, you can actually work?' I just remember all the blood drained out of me. I thought, 'With my tremendous size, I could tackle you so quickly.'"
"There were two cameras on him, and one was on me, and he went back to that question three or four times, and I just kept talking about the script or how fun [director] Paul Feig was," she continued. "He was looking around like, 'She's crazy.' When we left, their producer was horrified and said, 'We'll never play what he said. I'm so sorry.' But it happens all the time, to the point where it's fascinating because they don't do it to men. Not to be a jerk or single him out, but when John Goodman was heavier, did anybody ever talk about his girth?"
McCarthy also recalled a time when an additional reporter called her "grotesque" in a room full of approximately 100 people. Naturally, the comedian handled the awkward situation like a boss.
"Years ago, I was at a press conference for either The Heat or Tammy and somebody from a very big organization kept asking me, 'Why do you always feel the need to be so grotesque?'" she remembered. "I said, 'What are we talking about? I can't answer your question because I don't understand it.' He goes, 'You look sloppy, you're not wearing any makeup, your hair is not done, you're yelling at people.'"
"I was like, 'OK, so have you ever asked this of a guy? I'm playing a character. You need to get out more if you don't think there are real women like that,'" she added. "He goes, 'Oh, fine, I'm aggressive, call it whatever you want. If you don't want to answer the questions, you shouldn't come to the panel.' I was like, 'I really want to answer your questions. I'm sorry I didn't wear makeup in a part. I'm sorry I didn't look pleasant for you. But I also don't think you should be here writing about movies.'"
Those harsh words haven't stopped McCarthy from continuing to pursue her dreams, however. The brunette beauty has been getting plenty of love over the past few months for her recent dramatic turn in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, in which she portrays real-life writer and biographer Lee Israel.
McCarthy's buzzy performance was even recognized at the 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival earlier this month. The comedy icon received the coveted Spotlight Award at the film festival, presented by her co-star, Richard Grant.
Hear more on the honor in the video below.
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