How to deal with body shaming like a boss, according to Melissa McCarthy

Abby Haglage


Melissa McCarthy is known for making people laugh, but in a new cover story for Instyle, the actress is dispensing words of wisdom on a decidedly unfunny topic: body shaming. The 48-year-old’s advice springs from an interview she did for the 2011 movie Bridesmaids in which a reporter suggested that she was lucky to be so successful in the entertainment industry because of her size.

“He kept asking, ‘Are you shocked that you actually work in this business at your tremendous size?’ He was like, ‘Oh, your tremendous size, you can actually work?'” McCarthy recalled for Instyle. “I just remember all the blood drained out of me. I thought, ‘With my tremendous size, I could tackle you so quickly.'” As McCarthy tried to change the subject, the reporter held firm.

“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 Paul Feig was,” said McCarthy. “He was looking around like, ‘She’s crazy.'”

Melissa McCarthy on the cover of InStyle’s February issue. (Photographed by Robbie Fimmano for InStyle)
Melissa McCarthy on the cover of InStyle’s February issue. (Photographed by Robbie Fimmano for InStyle)

McCarthy kept her cool, which eventually led one of the producers to apologize. But staying calm wasn’t an accident, it’s how she deliberately handles body shaming. “I thought if I tell him to eff off, he will win on every possible level,” she said.

Although McCarthy suggests staying calm, she also doesn’t want fans to think that means they have to be subservient. “Having two daughters, I think there is a weird layer in the world [for women] where it’s not just about looks but it’s also, ‘Are you pleasant? Do you not make trouble?'” McCarthy told the magazine. “I don’t want to be around someone who’s a pain in the ass and confrontational, but I also don’t think that you always have to be Stepford Wife-y and can’t have opinions.”

Since the Instyle story was released, McCarthy’s fans have taken to Twitter to celebrate her beautiful cover.

And as if her powerful words weren’t body positive enough, McCarthy proved that she has a healthy relationship to weight and food this past Sunday during the Golden Globes, when she reportedly snuck in food to hand out to hungry guests.

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