After publicly questioning Melissa McCarthy about her usage of Ozempics in a scathing Instagram remark on Monday, fans cannot help but describe Barbra Streisand as rude and nasty.
When McCarthy, 53, uploaded a photo of herself and friend Adam Shankman, 59, in Los Angeles on Sunday at CTG's The Gala 2024 at the Ahmanson Theatre, Streisand took notice. She did not bother sending a private message to McCarthy, though.
The comic, whose weight has changed over time, showed off her freshly toned body in a chic mint dress and blazer. Granted, her post was about her outfit, drawing people's attention to her body.
Barbra Streisand Body Shames Melissa McCarthy?
"Pastels only to honor the incredible @matthewbourne13 at the @ctgla gala last night with this fella @adamshankman !!' the Oscar-nominated actress captioned the image.
"Thiiiiis much closer to my dream of dancing on stage," she also said, obviously pleased with what she's wearing.
In response, Streisand, 82, said, "Give him my regards; did you take Ozempic?" in the comment thread."
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Before swiftly retracting and removing the comment, the EGOT-winning entertainer received dozens of reactions criticizing the tone of her question and how she equated losing weight to the use of ozempic, a controversial drug.
Most described the line of questioning as "rude," "nasty," "disgusting" and "disrespectful," among others. Some believe she must have been hacked and another person was posting the shocking comment, which bordered on body shaming. Others were prompted to say that this is a manifestation of how obssessed Hollywood is on weight and appearances.
Others defended McCarthy for being healthy.
Streisand Explains
In response the following day (after deleting her comment), Streisand said her comment was meant to be a compliment and the followers were the ones who misconstrued it.
The EGOT winner took to her social media Tuesday to explain why she made the remark she already deleted, 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!"
According to New York Times, Ozempic is a diabetes medication that is gaining popularity after TikTok influencers, celebrities, and a tech entrepreneur took it to reduce weight quickly. First approved in 2017 to treat diabetes, the Food and Drug Administration also approved Wegovy, an injectable pharmaceutical, in 2021 to treat obesity. Wegovy contains a greater dose of semaglutide, the main ingredient in Ozempic.
Talk about the substance has been making the rounds on the internet ever since. A debate ensued on whether celebrities should be able to have access to the drug for their weight loss purposes, when it is supposed to aid only those with diabetes.
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