Melissa McCarthy recounts brush with fat-shaming TV host

Melissa McCarthy

Plus-size actress Melissa McCarthy recently recalled being the subject of body-shaming, when she was promoting the film “Bridesmaids” years ago.

That encounter, she told InStyle, was a bizarre interview “with somebody who later lost his job for a conversation he had on a bus with someone else. I won’t mention names, but just think about it.”

That thinly veiled hint, as commenters pointed out, referred to entertainment reporter Billy Bush, whose recording of the lewd “Access Hollywood” conversation with US President Donald Trump surfaced during the presidential campaign season in 2016 and led to his dismissal from “The Today Show.”

McCarthy, who starred in six seasons of the sitcom “Mike and Molly,” recalled, “He kept asking, ‘Are you shocked that you actually work in this business at your tremendous size?’ … I just remember all the blood drained out of me. I thought, ‘With my tremendous size, I could tackle you so quickly.’”

She added, “He went back to that question three or four times, and I just kept talking about the script or how fun (‘Bridesmaids’ director) Paul Feig was. He was looking around like, ‘She’s crazy.’ When we left, their producer was horrified and said, ‘We’ll never play what he said. I’m so sorry.’”

McCarthy was nominated in the Oscars’ best supporting actress category for “Bridesmaids,” and went on to star in more films. Earlier this week, she was nominated for a best actress Oscar for her work in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?.” —OLIVER PULUMBARIT