Back when Identity Thief first came out, an elderly movie critic named Rex Reed made a bunch of mean, sizeist comments about Melissa McCarthy, as if her size was at all relevant to her performance. He called Melissa a “female hippo,” wrote that she was “cacophonous, tractor-sized,” and claimed she was “a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success.” Melissa didn’t deign to respond to that, and she of course had the last laugh when the movie went on to be a big commercial success.

Countless people expressed outrage at Reed’s comments, and in a new NY Times interview, a full four months after the controversy, Melissa has finally addressed it. This is how you respond to some bullsh*t like this – you wait a handful of months and then you address the larger point and the real meaning of those hateful comments. Melissa is as classy as she is funny.

When Ms. McCarthy was asked about the review over lunch in April, her characteristically cheerful tone evaporated. In a softer voice, she said her initial reaction to reading it had been “Really?” and then, she said, “Why would someone O.K. that?”

Without mentioning the name of its author, Ms. McCarthy said: “I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate. I just thought, that’s someone who’s in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot. I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids who are mooning me and singing me songs.”

Had this occurred when she was 20, Ms. McCarthy said, “it may have crushed me.” But now, as a mother raising two young daughters in “a strange epidemic of body image and body dysmorphia,” she said articles like that “just add to all those younger girls, that are not in a place in their life where they can say, ‘That doesn’t reflect on me.’ ”

“That makes it more true,” she said. “It means you don’t actually look good enough.”

Ms. McCarthy was about to say more when the restaurant began a long and very loud test of its fire alarm.

“I imagine that’s my publicist,” she said after a tension-breaking laugh. “The gods didn’t want us discussing this.”

[From The NY Times]

I really hope that The Heat, Melissa’s buddy cop movie with Sandra Bullock, is a success. The trailer makes it look hilarious, and it’s a real step forward in the new trend of female-oriented comedies. I’m going to do my part to support it and will try and see it on opening weekend in a couple of weeks. It’s out June 28th!

One thing I learned from this profile is that Melissa is working on a comedy with Susan Sarandon. I love it. Melissa plays “an irresponsible woman on a road trip with her tough-as-nails grandmother.” They’re filming this summer and the movie was co-written and is directed by her husband, Ben Falcone. We’re going to see a lot more of the very talented and funny Melissa. Anyone who has a problem with that is going to get shot down by public opinion pretty quickly.

Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock are shown in April at Cinemacon. Credit: WENN.com

Remember when that mean old critic, Rex Reed, was trashing Melissa McCarthy’s hit comedy, Identity Theif, with derogatory references to her size? That was earlier this year, and Melissa’s cousin, the now less-famous and less-relevant Jenny McCarthy, defended her. Jenny called her cousin talented and told Rex to “go to hell,” basically. Melissa is the big star now and Jenny is the aging sexpot, clawing for relevancy (it’s true!). A few years back Jenny was the hot one, though, and if you believe Star (and why would they bother to make this up), she was a bitch to her cousin back then, told her to lose weight, and didn’t help her out at all. So now that Jenny has a struggling VH1 talk show and needs acting jobs, Melissa is conveniently ignoring her pleas.

Spies say the cousins are feuding over Melissa’s refusal to help Jenny reboot her sagging career. But the Mike & Molly star feels that what goes around comes around. “In the 90s, Jenny’s career was doing well, but she barely helped Melissa get acting gigs,” said a family insider. “Jenny told her she wouldn’t make it because of her weight.” Now the tables have turned, as Jenny struggles to keep her eponymous VH1 talk show afloat; she badly wanted a cameo in Melissa’s new movie The Heat. “But Melissa hasn’t forgiven Jenny for refusing to help her and calling her fat,” explains the insider

[From Star Magazine, print edition, June 10, 2013]

I believe this. Jenny seems like the catty type to me. This reminds me that The Heat is coming out soon! It’s out on June 28. That movie looks hysterical, I can’t wait. Oh and I just saw an ad on imdb for Identity Thief, that’s out on DVD June 4. It got mixed reviews, but it looks funny and I’d like to see that one too.

So Melissa McCarthy has hit movies she headlines along with a hit TV show, while Jenny McCarthy has a bizarre VH1 talkshow with guests that include Carson Kressley, Brande Roderick and Jacqueline Laurita. If Jenny did say those things to her cousin, I would say that karma is a bitch but that’s not the case. It’s about talent, and Jenny’s peaked in the 90s when it was still novel to fart and act sexy at the same time.

Melissa McCarthy is shown on April 18 at CinemaCon. Jenny McCarthy is shown on May 28 and May 19. Credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet

Remember when I was asking for random hair advice last week? (I’m getting a little desperate since I don’t trust my hairdresser anymore, my hair is dry and I need to make a change.) Well I took your advice and did not mess with henna at all. Thank you for that! I went with a semi-permanent color, L’oreal Healthy Look dark blonde (not a plug, I picked it out myself), which turned my red-blonde hair mousy brown. (Some people have said it looks dirty blonde.) At first I didn’t like it but it wasn’t tragic or anything and it also made my hair much healthier and shinier, so it’s growing on me. Plus it’s washing out gradually. I’ll use it again but just go with a lighter color next time.

All of that is preface to these photos of Sandra Bullock at CinemaCon, where she’s promoting her comedy The Heat, with Melissa McCarthy. Sandra’s hair is so freaking gorgeous I want it exactly, even though I know her shade of brown won’t go with my coloring. I’m taking this photo to whichever hairstylist I bet on and asking for this cut. This is how you do straight ironing with a center part. In terms of what she was wearing – I like it! I also like that she sort-of coordinated her look with Melissa McCarthy. Do you get the impression that they called each other up and decided to both wear all black outfits with black pants? I do. Melissa looks great too. I love her sneakers! I want a pair like that.

Also there was Kristen Wiig. This movie is by the director of Bridesmaids, and I’m guessing Wiig was there for support since she’s not listed on IMDB for this film. She wore this really unfortunate, busy, floral print dress. Kaiser, Bedhead and I had an e-mail exchange wondering if she was pregnant and hiding something or that’s just a terrible dress. I voted terrible dress.

In The Heat, Bullock and McCarthy play two mismatched cops who have to team up on a case. The trailer makes it look hilarious! I’m including it below, and it made me laugh out loud multiple times. Warning that is the the RedBand trailer and contains a lot of F-Bombs. (Thanks to Lainey for linking it) This movie isn’t out until late June though, damnit. I would love to see it now.

Photo credit: WENN.com

Emma Watson was the recipient of the “Trailblazer” award at the MTV Movie Awards last night, presented by a lovely Eddie Redmayne rocking the hell out of a leather jacket. His whole outfit was like catnip to me, but I digress. Emma was super cute in a short Maxine Simoens white and black contemporary gown with some cool architectural details along the neckline. When I saw this dress on camera last night I thought it was by Brood, as I covered it when Emma wore a similar dress by that designer last year. Emma loves contemporary, edgy kind of sci-fi little dresses and this is better than anything we’ve seen her in to date, in my opinion. It’s not as busy as her previous dresses but it still has plenty of eyecatching details.

Emma was so pretty last night and I especially liked her simple hair and understated makeup. Her shoes are by Proenza Schouler and they’re hot in my opinion. They could have overwhelmed the dress but instead they match the look without looking too “matchy”.

In terms of Emma’s speech, she was visibly moved that she had won an award for her career (at 22!) and I found myself rooting for her. She opened up a little bit, saying that she was more like Hermione than we might have known, admitting “I was completely the eager beaver in school. I was the girl in the front of the class who was the first person to put her hand up, and it’s often not cool… I’ve often gotten teased mercilessly, but I’ve found that ultimately if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in, even if it makes you vulnerable, amazing things can and will happen. I’m so honored to be receiving this and I promise to keep making the best work I can for all of you.” Here’s Emma’s speech. Oh and this clip doesn’t have Jonah Hill’s awesome intro for Emma, in which he claimed that they were going to costar in 50 Shades together and that his safeword was “tangerine.” Hilarious.

Also there we have Chloe Moretz in Louis Vuitton, surprisingly, although I guess I should have known since this denim dress looks like one of their fug patchwork purses. I was trying to figure out when Chloe, 16, went dark with her hair. She’s had dark hair for the past few months, and I think it’s so pretty. It’s very flattering and suits her coloring. I like her styling here.

Kylie Minogue looked bizarre in an alternating silver and blue stripe and see-through mess Paco Rabanne dress. It looks like Kylie gained a little much-needed weight, which suits her well, but that might just be the effect of this ugly dress. You can do better Kylie!

Melissa McCarthy is probably in David Meister here, he’s her go-to designer, (although I can’t confirm that) and I like that she went with a pantsuit instead of a dress. Those stacked necklaces are cool and standout well with the simple black outfit she’s wearing. I don’t like her shoes, though, they look a little “panto”. Her hair is so pretty. She surely has extensions, but they look natural.

And finally Alexis Knapp was there. She’s Ryan Phillippe’s random baby mama and she dated Seth MacFarlane for a hot minute. I didn’t know she was in Pitch Perfect, I have to see that! Kaiser is getting me excited for it. She wore this horrible pepto-pink dress with pagoda sleeves (I looked it up) and some kind of white Rorschach pattern across the front. Maybe with some different styling or shoes she could have made this dress work somewhat, but as it is it’s too childish looking. Just because people gush over a hairdo on Pinterest doesn’t mean you should wear it on the red carpet. Not cute.

Photo credit: WENN.com

Jennifer Garner supported her husband Ben Affleck through his Best Movie win in this deep purple tight fitted Gucci gown accented by a bizarre ruffled back that continued into a train. In photos this dress looks better to me than it did on camera, particularly when she was being interviewed by Kristen Chenoweth. (Maybe that’s because I found Chenoweth supremely annoying. Did you see that stunt she pulled with Hugh Jackman asking him if she weighed more than an Oscar?) Garner explained that the gown was custom-made and that “They gave me other ones to chose from but I loved this from the minute I saw the first sketch. I save up all my fashion for red carpet events.” Garner has a banging body but somehow this gown didn’t flatter her and accented the wrong places. Also: matchy bridal shoes! Something nice: I like her statement necklace and her hair and makeup are pretty.

Jane Fonda brought the 80s back in this fierce canary yellow v-neck Atelier Versace complete with freaking shoulder pads and gold detailing around the waist. I’m not kidding, I love this look. This is some bold, dated styling and Fonda pulls it off. The dress looked sexy from the back when she was presenting, too. Work it, Jane!

Melissa McCarthy wore grey David Meister, a designer she’s used many times in the past, and I was underwhelmed by the fit and color of this dress, which was similar to her past red carpet looks. This designer hasn’t really brought it for her. When she was presenting I was struck by the pretty details of the gown, like the beaded sleeves and the cool black triangle inset panel on the gown where a slit would be. Also, I really disliked her huge poofy hair. It seems like everyone was doing that a few years back.

I loved Melissa’s presentation with Paul Rudd for Animated Short and Feature. They’re both excellent at deadpanning it. I was hoping that the show would keep up those staged awkward moments, but apart from the weird Avengers thing there wasn’t much.

I’m adding Norah Jones in here as she was also in grey and was just so sweet on the red carpet. I was impressed with how shy yet genuine she was with Ryan Seacrest. She told him that it was her first Oscars. I don’t have a designer ID on her gown yet, which was pretty but kind of plain to me, which may have been due to the color. Her hair was also too fussy piled on top of her head like that, but she still looked so pretty. Norah performed “Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” from Ted, you can see her performance here on The Oscar website. I felt bad for her because the sound for her vocals was being overwhelmed by the music. The engineers should have perfected the levels during the rehearsals, there was no excuse for that.

Bonus pic with Adele! We’ll have more on her shortly.

Photo credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet

I am not very fond of Jenny McCarthy and generally find her insufferable, but she made some statements recently that I can really get behind. As background, an elderly film critic named Rex Reed slammed Melissa McCarthy’s new hit comedy, Identity Thief, by attacking Melissa’s size. In just a three paragraph review he called her “cacophonous, tractor-sized,” a “female hippo,” and dismissed her as “a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success.”

In response to the controversy over his remarks, Reed just doubled-down, defending himself by claiming that his rude remarks “are what sold tickets” to the successful film and that he objects “to using health issues like obesity as comedy talking points. That’s what this girl does, this Melissa Manchester.” He couldn’t even get her name right. He then went on to say “I have too many friends that have died of obesity-related illnesses, heart problems and diabetes… I have helped people try to lose weight, and I don’t find this to be the subject of a lot of humor.” This a-hole just used the “I have fat friends” excuse.

So Jenny McCarthy is Melissa McCarthy’s cousin, and she summed this controversy up nicely.

Don’t mess with Jenny McCarthy’s family. One week after veteran film critic Rex Reed attacked the actress’ cousin Melissa McCarthy in a scathing write-up of the movie Identity Thief, the 40-year-old former Playboy model is speaking out. And she’s not mincing any words.

“[Melissa is] very talented and people know that,” McCarthy told E! News of the Bridesmaids star. As for Rex Reed? “He can go to hell.”

Reed, a critic for the New York Observer, has been under fire from many corners since Feb. 5, when he called Melissa McCarthy “tractor-sized” and a “female hippo” in his review of her latest hit comedy, co-starring Jason Bateman. He also accused the Oscar-nominated actress of being “a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success.”

“That’s obnoxious in itself,” Jenny McCarthy told E! of Reed’s insults. “For anyone to attack like that, it’s just wrong and hurtful, and it doesn’t do anyone any good.”

[From US Weekly]

I agree with Jenny. Say the movie sucks if it does (and I’ve heard Identity Thief sucks) but don’t attack the lead’s size. No one says that Kevin James’ movies are crappy because he’s overweight.

Melissa is shown in stills from Identity Thief and at the premiere with her husband on 2-4-13. Credit: WENN.com

Melissa McCarthy is interviewed in the new Good Housekeeping, and she says a few things which make me want to give her a hug and have a drink with her, not necessarily in that order. She admits on one hand that she wishes she were a smaller person, and hopes she would wake up one day and magically be a size six. Then she says that she’s at peace with her body and isn’t beating herself up over it. She makes a lot of sense to me and I struggle with similar body image issues. You want to be something you’re not, but you realize that you may as well be happy with what you’ve got. Here’s some of what she said:

In a new interview with Good Housekeeping, the Bridesmaids star opens up about her weight struggles and how she tries not to let her shape become an issue when it comes to her career and self-esteem, and RadarOnline.com has the details.

“Sometimes I wish I were just magically a size 6 and I never had to give [my weight] a single thought,” admits McCarthy, who plays tennis and does Pilates to stay in shape. “But I am weirdly healthy, so I don’t beat myself up about it – it wouldn’t help, and I don’t want to pass that on to my girls.”

Considering her healthy lifestyle, the actress, who is in the process of designing a plus-sized clothing line, doesn’t understand why she isn’t a lot skinnier.

“I don’t really know why I’m not thinner than I am. I don’t really drink soda; I don’t have a sweet tooth, and we eat healthfully at home.”

However, no matter how big or small her friends are, the actress points out that most people she knows are never happy with themselves.

“Pretty much everyone I know, no matter what size, is trying some system. Even when someone gets to looking like she should be so proud of herself, instead she’s like, ‘I could be another three pounds less; I could be a little taller and have bigger lips.’ Where does it end?”

Melissa’s moral to the story?

“You just have to say, It’s pretty damn good. I am right here at the moment and I’m OK with it. I’ve got other things to think about.”

[From Radar Online]

Yay! I love that last line and strive to live by that sentiment. It’s not always easy, as she admits. Also, the thing about women not being happy with their looks no matter what is true. One of my friends is tiny and she means it when she says she feels fat, she’s not fishing for compliments. I just tell her I wish I was fat like her. I also agree with Melissa’s statement that almost everyone is on some kind of diet system. It’s crazy when you think about it.

I really hope this Melissa McCarthy story isn’t true. I suspect that there’s a kernel of truth somewhere in here, but it’s being exploited to make Melissa sound like a diva. So, Melissa seemed to come out of nowhere last year with Bridesmaids (which earned her an Oscar nom), and she ended up becoming one of the most talked-about actresses of the year. With that buzz came lots and lots of scripts and movie offers and deals and opportunities. But! Melissa was and is still contractually obligated to appear in her starring role on CBS’s Mike & Molly. I always see the commercials for it when I’m watching The Good Wife, and I always think, “Wow, that’s weird that Melissa is still stuck doing that sitcom.” According to The Enquirer, Melissa feels the same way:

Plus-sized funny lady Melissa McCarthy thinks she’s too big for TV – and insiders say she wants off of ‘Mike & Molly’! Bolstered by her recent success on the big screen, the 42-year-old actress has become a “raging diva” on the set of the hit CBS sitcom.

“Melissa’s head has swollen to epic proportions,” revealed a Hollywood source. “She complains about the quality of scripts and grumbled about the direction the show is going in. She came back this season with a huge chip on her shoulder, and it’s creating a lot of tension and bad feelings on the set.”

Melissa’s big-screen breakout was in last year’s ‘Bridesmaids’ and she’s just wrapped ‘The Heat’ with Sandra Bullock. After that, returning to the daily grind of filming a TV show was apparently tough for her to swallow.

“She’s suddenly one of hottest actresses in town and she’s been inundated with films cripts,” the source explained. “The sky’s the limit for her professionally, and she feels TV is holding her back from superstardom. It’s obvious she wants out of Mike & Molly now.”

But Melissa is locked into the show for at least another year.

“She actually approached producers to see if she could get out of the contract of even buy her way out… but ‘Mike & Molly’ is a huge hit for the network, and they certainly aren’t going to let their biggest draw walk away from it.”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

I would suggest that Melissa pull a “Clooney,” and I’m not even talking about some kind of sex act involving handcuffs, a goat, a silk scarf and Agent Bedhead. When George was hitting it big in films, he still had a contract for ER. Clooney didn’t try to fight the contract, he didn’t try to renegotiate, he didn’t pitch any diva fits. He honored his contract and simply asked ER’s producers and directors to see if they could be slightly more accommodating to his film schedules, which they did with no fuss. So, that’s what Melissa should do – fulfill her contract with the show for what I’m assuming is for this TV season (2012-13) and next year’s (2013-14) and then be done with it.

By the way, have you seen the trailer for Melissa’s new film with Jason Bateman, Identity Thief? Um… I’m going to see this. In the theater. I LOVE the combination of Jason and Melissa.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

This is The Face of Bangs Trauma. There is NO NEED for a woman to do this to herself. Poor Rose Byrne. She’s so beautiful and so talented, but her hair issues have destroyed her chances to ever become “someone to watch” on the red carpet. Plus, the girl has NO style. At the SAGs last night, the cast of Bridesmaids was out in full force. I sometimes feel like Rose is the odd girl out of that cast, maybe because she’s the only non-American, maybe because she’s known more as a dramatic actress, maybe because SHE HAS CODE RED BANGS TRAUMA. I don’t know. Whatever is going on with her, it’s not good. Rose wore this 2009 Elie Saab jumpsuit that is easily my choice for Worst SAG Outfit. It’s not that I hate jumpsuits or anything – sometimes, a jumpsuit is a really cute red carpet choice. But this one, with the stiff, beaded, brocade material and the shoulder embellishments, it’s all just awful. The cherry on top is the awful “Dutch Boy” hair. It’s epic in its hideousness. Poor Rose.

Compared to Rose, anyone else is going to look better, right? So why did Kristen Wiig still manage to mess up her look too? I like and respect Kristen so much… which is why I really want her to find a (better?) stylist. CB really likes Kristen’s Balenciaga gown, and while the beigey color completely washes Kristen out, the gown itself is well-constructed and pretty. The biggest problem here is the hair and the giant choker. I don’t hate Kristen as a brunette, but while she’s darker, she shouldn’t go so dark with her makeup too, because the effect looks really cheap.

Go ahead an hate me, but I thought Melissa McCarthy was the best dressed of all of the Bridesmaids girls. She looked classy and simple. I would like to her in a brighter color, maybe. Her dress was Badgley Mischka – I’m glad Badgley Mischka gowns are returning to the red carpet, aren’t you?

And here’s Maya Rudolph in Naeem Khan. I don’t think this dress suits her at all – it’s WAY too matronly. Maya is only 39 years old – this is the kind of dress I could have seen on Meryl Streep or Glenn Close, you know?

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame.

Bridesmaids was up for a couple of awards last night: Motion Picture, Comedy, which went to The Artist (did you see the dog from The Artist on the red carpet? adorable!) and Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Kristen Wiig, which went to Michelle Williams. We’ve heard that there might be some kind of sequel in the works without Kristen Wiig, who has been working on another project. Melissa McCarthy told Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet last night that she wouldn’t want to do another Bridesmaids without Kristen, though. (We don’t have photos of Wiig’s fug look, you can see them here.) Melissa may have just been paying it lip service but I think she was genuine and that if there is something in the works it’s in the very early stages and they’re still hoping to get Wiig on board.

Last night McCarthy wore this emerald Badgley Mischka which is doing something strange to her boobs. From some angles it looks like they’re sitting on a shelf. The dress looked a lot prettier on screen, though, and I’m so glad she opted for something with a jeweled neckline instead of going for sequins as she’s done so often this season.

Zooey Deschanel killed it in this gorgeous custom made Prada. I loved this dress so much and thought it was so striking. Zooey’s makeup was way overdone and her hair looked so fake and like it was hanging in her eyes. I wish she would have gone for simpler styling. Look at how cute she is posing with her sister Emily! I think Emily’s dress is a little fussy and I’m not liking the black shoes paired with the cobalt blue dress. She just had a baby less than four months ago. Zooey was up for best actress in a comedy TV series for “New Girl,” which went to Laura Dern.

Also up for best actress in a comedy was Tina Fey for “30 Rock.” Fey was characteristically cute and I love that she opted for a bright jewel tone instead of going for black as usual. She was in a tight Oscar de la Renta gown with a flared feather hemline. The dress wasn’t amazing, but Tina looked great.

Tina’s BFF Amy Poehler, nominated in the same category, looked a little washed out. She was wearing one of the more popular gown colors last night, a pale champagne shadPoehler was in Naeem Khan and I find the dress so pretty apart from the color. The subtle beading with clean lines is just so striking. I love Poehler’s cute hair and makeup too. That’s how you curl shorter hair.

Like Amy Poehler, Julie Bowen also suffered from too-light dress syndrome. She had on chiffon Reem Acra gown with a flowing gown and sequin cap sleeves. The sleeves were a little bizarre for me, and I thought her hair was matronly with those stiff curls. She looked lovely despite those minor issues. Her makeup is gorgeous.

Maya Rudolph looked a little underdone, in my opinion, in a v-neck sleeveless matte black gown with a full skirt. Still, I love the pattern on that dress, which is almost snake-like. Her stacked bracelets seem too informal and she could have dressed it up with some jewels. I would love to wear a million dollars worth of diamonds just for one night.

Photo credit: Juan Rico/Fame and WENN.com