Hollywood star Melissa McCarthy has responded by saying, “I win the day”, after Barbra Streisand was criticised for asking her if she had taken a weight-loss drug.
Bridesmaids star McCarthy had posted an image of herself on Instagram at a charity gala alongside US director Adam Shankman on Monday.
Streisand, the legendary singer and actress, replied in a comment below: “Give him my regards, did you take Ozempic?”
The drug can only be prescribed for patients with Type 2 diabetes and is not licensed as a weight-loss treatment in the UK or US.
Streisand posted an apology on X for her original comment which was swiftly deleted after it sparked a backlash online.
In a short video shared on Instagram, hours after the apology, McCarthy said: “The takeaway: Barbra Streisand knows I exist, she reached out to me and she thought I looked good. I win the day.”
McCarthy was holding up a magazine with Streisand on the cover in the video, which was filmed at the premiere of the new Netflix movie Unfrosted, in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The 53-year-old will appear in the film alongside Jerry Seinfield and Hugh Grant when it is released this month.
McCarthy was earlier asked by a photographer in Los Angeles what she thought of Streisand’s comments and replied: “I think Barbra is a treasure, and I love her.”
Melissa McCarthy poses at the premiere of the Netflix film Unfrosted. Pic: AP
‘I forgot the world is reading’
Streisand, 82, had said in her apology earlier on Tuesday: “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!”
Read more entertainment news
College offers Taylor Swift course
Line of Duty actor dies suddenly
Depardieu to face sexual assault trial
Barba Streisand apologised for the comment. File pic: Reuters
In response to Streisand’s original comment referring to Ozempic, one social media user wrote: “Omg somebody please teach Barbra Streisand how to send a DM.”
Another wrote: “Omg…this comment from Barbra Streisand. Yes, it’s real, but she’s deleted it.”
Ozempic 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.
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 ones.