Barbra Streisand Surprised by Backlash Over Her Melissa McCarthy Ozempic Comment

Carly Thomas
·2 min read
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Barbra Streisand is seemingly taken aback by the backlash she has received regarding an Ozempic comment she left on Melissa McCarthy’s latest Instagram post.

The EGOT winner took to her social media Tuesday to offer an explanation for her remark, writing, “OMG — I went on Instagram to see the photos we’d posted of the beautiful flowers I’d received for my birthday! Below them was a photo of my friend Melissa McCarthy who I sang with on my Encore album. She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment. I forgot the world was reading!”

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On Monday, McCarthy shared a photo on Instagram of herself with director Adam Shankman at the Center Theatre Group’s CTG The Gala event in Los Angeles from the day prior. The Bridesmaids star captioned her post, “Pastels only to honor the incredible @matthewbourne13 at the @ctgla gala last night with this fella @adamshankman!! Thiiiiis much closer to my dream of dancing on stage.”

Several other A-listers took to her comment section to react to the post, including Glenn Close, who wrote, “GORGEOUS!!!” and Octavia Spencer, who said, “These lewks are yummy.” However, it was Streisand’s comment about the weight-loss drug that led to discourse among fans.

The singer-actress wrote in a since-deleted comment, “Give him my regards did you take Ozempic?”

McCarthy’s reps didn’t immediately respond to The Hollywood Reporter‘s request for comment.

But later Tuesday night, McCarthy responded with an Instagram video in which she seemed to take the whole thing in stride.

Holding up a copy of a magazine titled Barbra: Celebrating an Icon, with Streisand’s face on the cover, McCarthy said, “The takeaway, Barbra Streisand knows I exist. She reached out to me, and she thought I looked good! I win the day.”

The video was captioned “[Streisand] fan club members only!!!.”

In recent years, Ozempic, a prescription diabetes medication, has risen in popularity, including among those in Hollywood, to help people slim down. While McCarthy has opened up about her health journey in the past, she has not spoken publicly about using Ozempic or other medications for weight loss.

Streisand and McCarthy previously worked together for the singer’s Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway album in 2016, for which they performed a duet of “Anything You Can Do.”

May 1, 7:55 a.m. This story has been updated with McCarthy’s response.

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