{"id":904412,"date":"2026-09-21T18:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T18:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/904412\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T18:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T18:46:15","slug":"melissa-mccarthy-on-bridesmaids-2-jonbenet-ramsey-and-comedy-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/904412\/","title":{"rendered":"Melissa McCarthy on Bridesmaids 2, JonBenet Ramsey and Comedy Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tMelissa McCarthy<\/a>, one of the most gifted comic actors working today, will soon be starring in a tragedy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn \u201cThe Murder of JonBen\u00e9t Ramsey\u201d \u2014 premiering on Netflix on Dec. 10 \u2014 McCarthy plays Patsy Ramsey, the mother of 6-year-old JonBen\u00e9t, who was killed in the Ramseys\u2019 Boulder, Colorado, home on Christmas night in 1996. Because JonBen\u00e9t had won several child beauty pageants, images of her in makeup and garish costumes created a spectacle around the case (which is still unsolved), and around the Ramseys. JonBen\u00e9t\u2019s father, John; her mother, and even her 9-year-old brother, Burke, all became suspects in her murder, and the series examines the fallout from her death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRamona Rosales for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tBecause of the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995, true crime had become a national obsession, and with JonBen\u00e9t\u2019s murder, newsmagazines, talk shows and tabloids had a field day, inciting the public to rabidity: Today, McCarthy remembers being part of the \u201cfeeding frenzy\u201d herself. Clive Owen, who plays John, says McCarthy\u2019s involvement as both an actor and executive producer was a \u201cbig part\u201d of the reason he agreed to take the role. \u201cYes, she\u2019s a brilliant comedic actress, but she\u2019s just a brilliant actress,\u201d Owen says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Murder of JonBen\u00e9t Ramsey,\u201d from showrunner Richard LaGravenese (and made without the family\u2019s involvement), was an emotionally wrenching endeavor, and McCarthy and Owen formed a bond. \u201cWe have become friends,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause it was such a difficult project, just having her alongside as an ally was really, really important. And honestly, after doing this project with her \u2014 she can do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd she has. After playing chef Sookie St. James in the beloved dramedy \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d from 2000 to 2007, McCarthy broke out in film in 2011\u2019s Paul Feig-directed blockbuster \u201cBridesmaids\u201d as the crude yet earnest Megan. The scene-stealing role brought her a best supporting actress Oscar nomination, a rarity for comedy \u2014 especially given that in the film\u2019s famously gruesome food poisoning set-piece, Megan uses a sink as a toilet. McCarthy was shocked when she learned of her nomination, saying to her husband, director Ben Falcone, \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s true,\u201d when he told her. (McCarthy was nominated for an Oscar a second time, for her fearless lead performance in Marielle Heller\u2019s 2018 \u201cCan You Ever Forgive Me?\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tOver her career, McCarthy has starred in hit comedies such as Feig\u2019s \u201cThe Heat\u201d and \u201cSpy\u201d and Falcone\u2019s \u201cTammy\u201d and \u201cThe Boss\u201d \u2014 and as the villainous Ursula in Disney\u2019s 2023 live-action version of \u201cThe Little Mermaid.\u201d But with \u201cThe Murder of JonBen\u00e9t Ramsey,\u201d she returns to her earliest training in New York City, when she spent two years studying the Sanford Meisner method of acting. Back then, McCarthy was \u201ccarrying folding chairs up to a rehearsal space to do a show and just making enough money to hopefully pay for the space that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite the different scale of audience, the same passion and community spirit went into \u201cThe Murder of JonBen\u00e9t Ramsey,\u201d McCarthy says in her first interview about the series, with the cast and crew putting in \u201chardworking days\u201d while suffering through \u201chard moments.\u201d Wanting to do right by Patsy, who died of ovarian cancer in 2006, McCarthy found people who knew her. \u201cAnd they were like, \u2018Those kids were in jeans riding their bikes. JonBen\u00e9t wasn\u2019t out in a pageant dress in her front yard.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tPlaying Patsy Ramsey is such a heavy thing \u2014 what went into your decision to do it?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI said, \u201cOh, no. I have no interest in that.\u201d I didn\u2019t think it was any of my business to do, I guess? But I spent a lot of years not working, and somebody took the time to ask me \u2014 I should take the time to look into it. The more I started to, I was really floored by the lack of humanity that had been shown to that family. In 1996, I was 26, and I have a very vivid memory of standing in a grocery store and looking at a tabloid and thinking, \u201cHow could you dress a little girl like that?\u201d Because that\u2019s what we were being told.<\/p>\n

\t\tI remember being obsessed.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI had never put it together that I was a part of [judging them]. I went willingly. And that\u2019s on me. I just thought if it can make some people realize, \u201cOh, God. I was part of that \u2014 I did that,\u201d it gives us a little of our humanity back. And the hope is not to dredge it up for that poor family again.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis might sound nuts: I\u2019m very fond of Patsy. I have so much compassion for them, what they went through, and go through currently. That\u2019s a bizarre thing to have a child\u2019s trauma be like Wimbledon. It was a turning point, being able to watch something like that as sport.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd even when I finally decided to do this, everybody said their theory [about the case] as if it was true.<\/p>\n

\t\tPeople in your life, you mean?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tPeople in my life! Very smart people, very open-minded people. I was like, \u201cWhat is that based on?\u201d Because I\u2019ve now read every police report, every coroner\u2019s report. So we\u2019re still doing that. I said, \u201cYou got caught up in the riptide.\u201d I hope with my whole heart that this \u2014 I don\u2019t know if \u201chelps\u201d is the right word.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tClive Owen and Melissa McCarthy <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Chris Large\/Paramount+<\/p>\n

\t\tDoes the show have a point of view about what happened?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThis is not a whodunit. It\u2019s not like, \u201cOoh, there\u2019s a big reveal!\u201d This is a character study of everyone who was caught in the undertow, and a look at all of us \u2014 as a civilization, really. Seeing that happen to a child I think breaks everybody.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe do show all these different theories. They were all real working theories. Showing the chaos of it is something that we\u2019ve not seen. It\u2019s a new telling of it, because you\u2019re like, \u201cMy God, is this really what was happening?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tFor your performance\u2019s sake, did you decide what you thought happened?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYes. Just my personal feeling. My heart says no one in the family could have done that. I don\u2019t have the ability, or probably the right, to say that, but that\u2019s what my gut says. Which I probably am not supposed to say.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut shooting that, I had to pick. I had to have that for myself, if nothing else.<\/p>\n

\t\tIt\u2019s such a heartbreaking and very physical performance as Patsy. In the two episodes I\u2019ve seen, you\u2019re crying so much. What was that like?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s tricky. Luckily, I loved who I was working with. I\u2019d never worked with Clive before \u2014 I can\u2019t say enough good stuff about him. What a joy of a human. Everybody in the cast, every single person, they\u2019re fantastic. It just felt elevated. And I felt like everybody knew that we had to do right by the story and not just try to do something that\u2019s going to get a lot of views. That set was so serious, and some of those days were so hard. We had a psychologist on set at all times.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou did?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd it was needed sometimes, especially during some of the really intense scenes. It would take people down, and they\u2019d just need a minute. I felt obligated to stand up for her, which \u2014 maybe it\u2019s none of my damn business, but I feel protective of her. It makes you get up and go to work every day and try to give it your all.<\/p>\n

\t\tThis show was filmed in Calgary, far from your home with Ben and your two teenage daughters. After the workday, were you taking Patsy with you?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI had rather weird sleeping hours. It would depend on what the next day held, but I called my kids, for sure, and my husband, and made sure throughout the day I talked to them and checked in on days when I could. Some days I couldn\u2019t. I didn\u2019t want them to see me in that state.<\/p>\n

\n\tSleep wasn\u2019t always great when that\u2019s what was in my head. But I was like, \u201cWell, I bet she wasn\u2019t sleeping great either. So get up! Get up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tAs you prepare for the show to come out, what have you been thinking about?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think about the one thing I can\u2019t control, which is how people will receive it. And, of course, you think about the family. My intentions don\u2019t mean anything \u2014 their feelings are their feelings, and all I can do is hope that I did right by them and by Patsy. The only people that really get a vote are them.<\/p>\n

\t\tPatsy Ramsey died in 2006. But would you ever be interested in talking to John or Burke Ramsey?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI would. Again, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m supposed to say this: I\u2019ve written John many letters that I haven\u2019t sent. I wrote before we did it. I wrote, during the thing, to him and Burke \u2014 many letters \u2014 to be like, \u201cI\u2019m doing my best by her. I\u2019m really trying to show who I felt she was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cBridesmaids\u201d: Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of \u00a9Universal\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019ve excelled at drama, and this role is as dramatic as it gets. But you came up through the Groundlings, the improv and sketch program, where you met your husband, Ben Falcone, and \u201cBridesmaids\u201d screenwriters Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, along with so many other people you\u2019ve gone on to work with. How did you get involved with the Groundlings?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tMy very first stuff in New York was stand-up. I did all the free cheap rooms where you got a minute and a half, and you worked your way up to two and a half minutes and so on. But then I didn\u2019t like those rooms anymore \u2014 I just found them really misogynistic. There was literally a guy in every room saying, \u201cShow me your tits.\u201d To the point where I was like, \u201cIs it the same guy? The same lonely guy?\u201d He\u2019s not going to stop. The only way to make him stop is to eviscerate him. I was like, \u201cI\u2019m here to try to make people laugh, and now the only way I win is if I actually embarrass you. I see I\u2019ve done that and now you\u2019re quiet. So now I feel terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI love live performance; it\u2019s my favorite. But that realm was not. I didn\u2019t want a fistfight.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd then I moved to L.A., and my sister sent me a little magazine story about the Groundlings.<\/p>\n

\t\tI see.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI was like, \u201cOh, there must be amazing theater in L.A.!,\u201d because I\u2019d never been here when I moved here. When I was doing stand-up, I didn\u2019t really know how to write, so a lot of it was improvised. I also had a thing of like, \u201cYou\u2019re not a writer unless you\u2019ve been trained to write.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI would always go up with a paper, and I would do my monologue, and Ben was the first person that leans over and he goes, \u201cWhy do you always go up with a blank page?\u201d I was like, \u201cWhat? What are you talking about?\u201d He\u2019s like, \u201cYou go up with a blank page, you do a monologue.\u201d I was like, \u201cThat\u2019s not writing.\u201d And he\u2019s like, \u201cIt is writing.\u201d I was like, \u201cNo, it\u2019s not, because I don\u2019t know how to write.\u201d He\u2019s like, \u201cYou just did a whole monologue, and then you wrote down what you said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI had such a weird, I didn\u2019t go to college \u2014 I\u2019m not a writer. Groundlings literally taught me to be like, \u201cOK: You are writing, you are doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat was the \u201cBridesmaids\u201d experience like once the movie came out?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe fact that Kristen and Annie let me come in for that truly changed my life. I thought I blew the audition because I got too weird, because I was sitting there improvising with Kristen. I got too comfortable! I said weird things! <\/p>\n

\n\tBefore \u201cBridesmaids\u201d was released, people were like, \u201cThe numbers are not looking good.\u201d And I was like, \u201cIt\u2019s not out yet.\u201d And they\u2019re like, \u201cWe know how to do this, and the numbers are not looking good.\u201d And I was like, \u201cOK, but I\u2019m just saying I think it\u2019s really funny and I think people are going to think it\u2019s really funny.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOpening night, Ben and I were sitting in Paul Feig\u2019s backyard with him and his wife, Laurie, and we\u2019re having dinner and Paul\u2019s like, \u201cOh my God. Oh my God. I think it\u2019s working! It\u2019s working!\u201d Then all of a sudden he\u2019s like, \u201cEvery theater in L.A. is full. Get in the car, get in the car, get in the car!\u201d We went to the ArcLight, I think? We just stood in the back, and it was rolling, crazy laughter.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou, Ben, Paul and Laurie?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYes. We were like, \u201cOh my God, it\u2019s working! What we think is funny is funny!\u201d It was about that group of people; it was about the characters.\u00a0Just running through theaters, and Paul in his suit \u2014 and Ben and I not dressed as nicely.<\/p>\n

\t\tNo one does dress as nicely as Paul Feig.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, nobody.<\/p>\n

\t\tIt also felt important \u2014 a comedy about women becoming such a massive success.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYes. Which is insane, but it did. Two women wrote it; we all felt like this is what\u2019s funny. This is what we as women write about and talk about, and we are this weird. And it wasn\u2019t about, \u201cMy dress isn\u2019t perfect!\u201d even though that was part of it. This is what trying on dresses really is like \u2014 it\u2019s a bit of a shitshow.<\/p>\n

\t\tAs soon as the movie came out, people started saying you needed to be nominated for an Oscar \u2014 which you were! But that\u2019s so uncommon for a comedy. What was that like?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDisorienting. Now I can\u2019t remember if Octavia\u2019s name was said first or mine. Jim Rash and Nat Faxon were nominated for \u201cThe Descendants.\u201d Kristen and Annie were nominated for screenplay \u2014 this was, like, our weird ragtag group. And I just kept saying \u201cOctavia\u2019s nominated!\u201d Ben went, \u201cMooch, you just got nominated.\u201d I was like, \u201cI know Octavia got nominated for an Oscar!\u201d And he was like, \u201cYou just got nominated for an Oscar.\u201d I was like, \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s true.\u201d And he\u2019s like, \u201cWe just watched it.\u201d Then I just balled my eyes out.<\/p>\n

\t\tRight! That was the year Octavia Spencer, also your friend since the Groundlings days, won for \u201cThe Help.\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd Jim and Nat won that year. We were all just there \u2014 and we were like, \u201cWhat are we all doing here? This is amazing!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut our own Academy, our own industry, doesn\u2019t respect comedy. I don\u2019t know when that became the thing to do \u2014 and you can call any project a comedy to get into an awards category. Anybody just gets to claim it, because no real comedies are ever going to get awarded. I\u2019m stopped 15 times a day by somebody who says, \u201cI desperately need you to do another comedy.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cWe are trying. I\u2019m trying!\u201d And people need it, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cThe Heat\u201d: Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a920thCentFox\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\t\tCan you talk about your creative partnership with Paul Feig?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tPaul should be legally bound to make one comedy at least every two years. His taste level as a filmmaker, his visual aesthetic, is so good \u2014 which is important. You have to make a proper film. It has to look good. It has to have great pacing. And he\u2019s just funny as hell. He just wants to lift other people to be as funny and as good as you can possibly be. I miss him doing comedies \u2014 for myself, but also as an audience member. We\u2019ve made it so hard to do comedies that we have our best and our funniest people not doing what they do.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhy is that?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think the narrative of comedies don\u2019t work anymore is bullshit. I think it\u2019s absolute bullshit. It\u2019s a false narrative. Comedy is like music. It\u2019s a feeling \u2014 not everybody can do the same thing. Two equally incredible musicians have totally different styles. You don\u2019t go in and break someone\u2019s style or what they do; you have them do the best of what they can do.<\/p>\n

\n\tI think because people can laugh at a movie, for some reason, it\u2019s less respected. And so they think, \u201cWell, I know what\u2019s funny.\u201d And I always want to be like, \u201cYou\u2019ve never been funny to me! You\u2019ve never said anything funny. You\u2019ve never thought of a funny idea.\u201d It doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re not great at your job \u2014<\/p>\n

\t\tAre we talking about the executive level now?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tPeople at all the levels are now like, \u201cLet me tell you who to put in to make it funny\u2026\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cWell, those four people aren\u2019t funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s like Feig putting in Jason Statham in \u201cSpy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tOh God, yes!\t<\/p>\n

\n\tPaul and I went out to dinner with Statham, and we were just goofing around the table, and I was like, \u201cStop talking about it! Just do what you\u2019re doing \u2014 it\u2019s so funny.\u201d But Paul had the idea to be like, \u201cWhat about Statham?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut when you take all of the artists out of it \u2014 they start to do the math of it, and that\u2019s not comedy. They want a big premise. But most really great comedies, it\u2019s about the people and the characters and the story, and it\u2019s not like, \u201cAnd they were both aliens at the end!\u201d But people really think they want that hook, and it\u2019s just not real. Then they say comedies don\u2019t work, and I\u2019m like, \u201cNo, bad comedies don\u2019t work.\u201d And I won\u2019t take the fall for that.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\u201cSpy\u201d Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a920thCentFox\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\t\tTo me, in a just world, \u201cSpy\u201d would be a franchise.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWe should be on the ninth \u201cSpy\u201d! Everyone on \u201cSpy\u201d was ready to re-rack immediately. There should be a new villain, new location.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhy didn\u2019t it happen? Because you\u2019re a woman?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo \u2014 well, Jesus, that probably doesn\u2019t help, but I don\u2019t know. It did so well. People can say that doesn\u2019t matter. I think it does. For \u201cThunder Force,\u201d we were going to roll right into another one. We were like, \u201cIt\u2019s so fun. It did incredibly well for Netflix. We already have the idea for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIf I write something \u2014 or Ben and I write something \u2014 and it tanks, I\u2019ll take the fall. Which we have not had to take. We don\u2019t make $8 billion. We don\u2019t make those kind of movies, but, I mean, $120 million, I\u2019m not mad at that. The studio\u2019s not mad at that. We want to make a reasonably priced thing that makes you a good profit. For some reason, that model is no longer desirable. I can\u2019t figure out the math of it.<\/p>\n

\t\tFor the never-made \u201cBridesmaids 2,\u201d I\u2019d heard that Kristen and Annie\u2019s idea was that was Lillian gets divorced, and there\u2019s a divorce party. Why did that not happen? And how!\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThat I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\t\tI know that was a hard movie to make.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was, but it was also so fun. Oh my God, it was so fun. Literally laughing on set in such a way that I am shocked that we shot stuff. Rose [Byrne] is such a wonderful, bad laugher. On the plane, her little stick arms are up, and when Ben and I are doing our weird thing, she just laughs out loud. It\u2019s a glorious thing. She just kept putting the magazine up to hide \u2014 and it\u2019s in the movie.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo that was what shooting was like. It was like you were literally hiding because someone was always like, \u201cOh, I\u2019ve dropped something,\u201d because they\u2019re under the table laughing. That\u2019s just not a bad day.<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t know. I think it\u2019s gotten so corporate. I miss the people that work off their gut.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhen I think about the hellish world that we live in now, I can kind of trace it directly back to the backlash against \u201cGhostbusters\u201d in 2016.\t<\/p>\n

\n\t[Sighs] What madness. It does really correlate! When people were like, \u201cYou\u2019re ruining our childhood,\u201d I was like, \u201cYou definitely seem like you had a terrible childhood.\u201d It just had so many cooks in that kitchen.<\/p>\n

\t\tKatie Dippold co-wrote \u201cGhostbusters\u201d with Paul Feig \u2014 for her \u201cWidow\u2019s Bay\u201d triumph.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOh my God, I loved her show. I almost got nervous, like, \u201cIt\u2019s so good. Is it not going to do well?\u201d And I ate it up. I couldn\u2019t get enough fast enough. Then I just started hearing person after person be like, \u201cHave you watched this thing?\u201d It is not shocking that Katie Dippold wrote something incredible. I\u2019m just like, who\u2019s the genius that backed off and let her?<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cGilmore Girls\u201d: Melissa McCarthy and Lauren Graham<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9CW Network\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\t\tSookie on \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d was your first big role. It\u2019s not easy to do Amy Sherman-Palladino dialogue!\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s good training, I tell you that!<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat was that experience like when you look back on it?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was hard! It was really hard. But to me, that was normal, because it was my first show. So I was like, \u201cOh, our scripts are 93 pages, and you can\u2019t change a contraction, even if you get them that morning and it\u2019s a 10-page oner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd that\u2019s just what it was. I love that she had her own style, and I love that she built that world. I love that she fought for it, because a woman running that show at that time, I think you kind of had to be like, \u201cIt\u2019s my way or the highway.\u201d I think she had to probably fight to keep it the way she wanted to. And I\u2019m glad she did, because it stood the test of time. People really take ownership of that show.<\/p>\n

\t\tSo huge with Gen Z.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd the fact that they keep re-watching it. I\u2019m like, \u201cReally?\u201d It\u2019s so funny, my kids have not watched it. But Vivian and I were both home with the flu \u2014 this is years ago. And it came on and she was like, \u201cThat\u2019s your show, right? That was your first show?\u201d I was like, \u201cYou\u2019re on the very end of that show when I\u2019m pregnant.\u201d I think I\u2019d had four kids on the show. And then I finally went to Amy and I\u2019m like, \u201cI\u2019m actually pregnant. You can have me have another kid again, and I\u2019ll give you the prop for free.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd she was like, \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so.\u201d So then I had to hide it! I was like, \u201cWe already have four kids. I can\u2019t have five?\u201d But we watched just the pilot, and Vivi, my oldest, she kept going, \u201cWhat are you doing with your voice?\u201d And I was like, \u201cOh, it\u2019s youth.\u201d She\u2019s like, \u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound like you at all.\u201d I was like, \u201cYeah! I was youthful and I didn\u2019t have kids yet. And now I sound like this grizzled old man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of The CW<\/p>\n

\t\tYou did one day on the Netflix revival, \u201cGilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was fun to see everybody again. I still see Lauren [Graham] and Yanic [Truesdale]. We\u2019ve gone on vacation with Yanic. We\u2019re really close. I just wanted to go and see everybody. So it was really nice to do. I always wonder, will something else happen with that? I don\u2019t know anything about it, but \u2014<\/p>\n

\t\tAmy has done a ton, but it\u2019s kind of her life\u2019s work, right?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen something catches like that, there\u2019s no rhyme or reason. You have to just love it. I mean, I\u2019m always shocked at all the \u201cGilmore\u201d comments when I\u2019m out. I\u2019m like, \u201cI\u2019ve worked since then!\u201d But it is nice. And I think we all are very aware of that, or I hope so. But when something catches like that, like \u201cThat\u2019s my comfort show,\u201d or, \u201cThat\u2019s what I watch going to sleep\u201d \u2014 what a thing to get to do something that gives people comfort like that.<\/p>\n

\t\tTotally. It\u2019s the coziest.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s the coziest! I felt lucky doing it, and I feel lucky to have been a part of it.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Joyful Heart Foundation<\/p>\n

\t\tCharity Spotlight: Joyful Heart Foundation\t<\/p>\n

\n\tMelissa McCarthy remembers meeting Mariska Hargitay the old-fashioned way: through their assistants. Hargitay, McCarthy says, seemed like someone who \u201cprobably has her shit together\u201d enough to make recommendations for, say, \u201ca good water filtration system.\u201d Their texting relationship soon blossomed into a real-life friendship, which, McCarthy says, \u201cdoesn\u2019t always happen when you meet a new friend in your 50s.\u201d As Hargitay puts it, \u201cWhen we finally did meet in person, our hearts did a dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTheir dynamic is a playful one. When Hargitay rolled her ankle and needed surgery in July 2021, McCarthy stood on a Burbank street holding a sign asking drivers to honk to speed up the \u201cSVU\u201d star\u2019s recovery. And earlier this year, McCarthy surprised Hargitay by doing a cameo on \u201cSVU.\u201d (\u201cI still don\u2019t know how they pulled it off,\u201d Hargitay says.)<\/p>\n

\n\tFor her Power of Women<\/a> charity, McCarthy is putting a spotlight on Joyful Heart Foundation, which \u2014\u00a0inspired by the subject matter of \u201cSVU\u201d \u2014 Hargitay began in 2004 to advocate for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. While other actors might have just said, \u201cThis is what I do for a living,\u201d McCarthy says, Hargitay instead embraced it as a responsibility. \u201cHer power is through kindness and consideration and a moral compass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Hargitay\u2019s part, she says of McCarthy, \u201cIt\u2019s a gift to find someone who\u2019s willing to roll up their sleeves and help bring change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tStyling: Katja Cahill; Stylist assistants: Aliya Iahijani, Tracey Moore; Tailor: Daniela Kurrle; Makeup: Afton Williams; Hair: Mark Townsend\/Forward Artists; Dress: L\u2019Academie, Hat: Sadie James, Cape: Viviano; Earrings: KerenWolf, Spectrum Jewels, and Mindi Mond New York; Rings: On Aura Tout Vu, Spectrum Jewels, Le Vian Jewelry and Zales;Necklaces: Zales and Sterling Forever; Bracelets: Zales and Sterling Forever\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melissa McCarthy, one of the most gifted comic actors working today, will soon be starring in a tragedy.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":904413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[49,48,361,75,132463,116833,312723],"class_list":["post-904412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-melissa-mccarthy","tag-power-of-women","tag-power-of-women-cover-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/904413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}