In February, Rex Reed of the New York Observer made headlines when he referred to "Bridesmaids" star Melissa McCarthy as "tractor-sized" and “a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success.”
McCarthy finally responded to the hateful commentary in a New York Times piece published on June 13th, expressing her pity for Reed.
“I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate," she told The Times' Dave Itzkoff. "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.”
She admitted that 20 years ago the review would have "crushed" her, but now she primarily worries about how such comments might affect younger female readers "that are not in a place in their life where they can say, ‘That doesn’t reflect on me.'" She told Itzkoff that, for younger women, reading body-shaming rhetoric like Reed's could send the message that "you don’t actually look good enough.”
McCarthy's classy response just makes us want to hang out with her (and her new BFF Sandra Bullock) even more -- and give people who continue to criticize her body a serious telling off. Last week, it was revealed that McCarthy's face and neck had been heavily edited in a promotional poster for her upcoming movie "The Heat," to which we've got to say -- really? McCarthy has proved time and time again that her body and her words require no "editing" at all.
What do you think of McCarthy's response? Comment below or join the conversation on Twitter @HuffPostWomen.
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