Barbra Streisand has explained why she publicly asked Melissa McCarthy if she'd been taking Ozempic.
The singer had commented on a photo of Melissa McCarthy on Instagram on Sunday, asking: "Did you take Ozempic," in reference to Melissa's noticeably slimmer frame in a photo with director and choreographer Adam Shankman.
She deleted the comment quickly, after fans called her out, calling her comments "rude" and "disrespectful."
Now Barbra, 82, has given a reason for the public questioning.
“OMG - I went on Instagram to see the photos we’d posted of the beautiful flowers I’d received for my birthday!” she said.
“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.”
Some fans theorised that Barbra meant to send her friend a private message rather than post a public question.
The two women previously recorded a duet together for Barbra's 2016 album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway.
Melissa has since responded to Barbra's comments, telling paparazzi, "I think Barbra is a treasure and I love her."
While the Bridesmaids star has never publicly talked about using Ozempic, she has spoken about how women over a certain dress size in Hollywood are constantly asked about their weight.
"It happens all the time" she told InStyle in 2019. “It’s fascinating because they don’t do it to men."
