Barbra Streisand has offered an explanation after asking Melissa McCarthy if the Bridesmaids star had taken the weight loss drug Ozempic.
On Monday, McCarthy posted a picture of herself and director Adam Shankman as they attended a charity gala in honour of renowned choreographer Matthew Bourne.
Fans and famous faces flocked to the comments section – including Streisand, whose now-deleted post received attention for the wrong reasons.
The Funny Girl star wrote: “Give him my regards did you take Ozempic?”
Melissa McCarthy at a Broadway premiere earlier this month. Pic: AP
The comment was soon spotted by McCarthy’s followers, one of whom wrote on Twitter: “Omg somebody please teach Barbra Streisand how to send a DM.”
Streisand’s post was later deleted and she’s now explained why she wrote it in a post on X.
The 82-year-old wrote: “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 is reading.”
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McCarthy, 53, has not responded to either of Streisand’s posts.
Ozempic – a treatment originally designed for people with diabetes – works by suppressing the appetite and lengthens the amount of time food stays in the stomach, leading to weight loss – at least for as long as you carry on taking it.
It has been banned as a treatment for obesity in the UK due to high demand for the drug causing a global shortage.
Numerous Hollywood stars are rumoured to have used Ozempic to lose weight – but just a handful of celebrities have admitted it publicly.
Read more:
Ozempic to Wegovy – what are the weight loss injections?
Ozempic takes over the internet despite health warnings
Stephen Fry was prescribed the drug in the US “years ago” and said earlier this year that side effects included vomiting up to five times a day.
Oprah Winfrey has said she has also taken weight loss drugs, though she’s declined to specify which one.