Melissa McCarthy was charmed by Barbra Streisand 'pounding lunch meat' when they met

When Melissa McCarthy was asked to sing alongside one Ms. Barbra Joan Streisand for her 2016 duets album Encore, she thought it was a prank. However, she was quickly put at ease by the legendary diva...and her love of a deli meat.

"She's really funny," McCarthy says of Babs during an interview on EW's 3 Rounds video series (above), recalling that she expected the EGOT winner to perhaps be regal and dignified. "That's what I almost wanted. And then, I think when she opened the door she had leggings on and lunch meat in her hand. And I was like, none of this is what I expected."

And lest you think the meat was for her beloved Coton de Tulear dogs, McCarthy reveals it was for the Funny Girl herself.

Though the Oscar nominee admits to being "super nervous" to meet, let alone sing with, Streisand, she found the showbiz icon to be as soft as an easy chair, fresh as the morning air.

"She's so who she is," McCarthy recalls. "And also, when someone who you think you should be curtseying to keeps eating lunch meat, it really kind of levels the playing field. It was really charming. I was like, 'You're really pounding lunch meat.' She's like, 'Yeah.'"

Watch the video above of Streisand and McCarthy's duet, and check out the entire 3 Rounds with Melissa McCarthy below.

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