Melissa McCarthy Revealed That She Was Once Asked About Her ‘Tremendous Size’ In An Interview

Melissa McCarthy is on track to secure her second Oscar nomination for her role in the biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me?, but it seems people are still having trouble believing a woman of her size could be a successful actress.

In a new interview with InStyle, Melissa revealed that reporters often question her about her weight, recalling one interview she did for Bridesmaids with a TV host who wouldn’t stop talking about her “tremendous size”:

He kept asking, “Are you shocked that you actually work in this business at your tremendous size?” I just remembered all the blood drained out of me. I thought, “With my tremendous size, I could tackle you so quickly.”

“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 said. “He was looking around like, ‘She’s crazy’.”

Melissa didn’t name names, but she did hint that the man later lost his job “for a conversation he had on a bus with someone else”.

From this clue, people reckon she’s referring to former Access Hollywood presenter Billy Bush, who was fired in 2016 after a video of him and Donald Trump talking inappropriately on a bus was leaked online. And well… you wouldn’t be 100% surprised going on the contents of that video, would you?

Melissa also delved into the often-negative reaction to her loud, goofy characters, singling out another journalist who asked her why she “always felt the need to be grotesque”.

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.

“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,” she said.

Spot on. Melissa snuck 30 ham sandwiches into the Golden Globes on Sunday, so it’s clear she’s a good egg. Team McCarthy FTW.

• Melissa McCarthy