On Monday, Barbra Streisand sparked a social media storm when she commented — then swiftly deleted — a very personal question on Melissa McCarthy’s Instagram post.
Melissa had shared a photo of herself looking sensational in a mint-colored ensemble as she posed with director Adam Shankman on the red carpet for the Center Theatre Group’s annual LA gala.
Upon seeing the picture of Melissa with Adam, 82-year-old Barbra wrote under Melissa’s post: “Give him my regards,” before bluntly asking: “Did you take Ozempic?”
Unsurprisingly, Barbra’s forthright comment left fans shocked, and her decision to quickly delete it only fueled speculation that she had thought that she was replying to Melissa’s post privately.
“OMG - I went on Instagram to see the photos we’d posted of the beautiful flowers I’d received for my birthday!” she began. “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,” Barbra continued. “I forgot the world is reading!”
However, Barbra’s response may not have had the intended effect, with some being left even more confused by Barbra’s wording in her statement.
Meanwhile, Melissa herself has completely downplayed the situation, waving away a photographer’s question on whether she thought Barbra was “out of line” in a video obtained by TMZ.
Melissa then seemingly removed the post that Barbra had commented on from her Instagram profile, and instead uploaded a video of herself defending the icon.
In the clip, Melissa is reading Barbra magazine, and tells followers: “The takeaway: Barbra Streisand knows I exist, she reached out to me, and she thought I looked good! I win the day!”
Melissa captioned the post: “@barbrastreisand fan club members only!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️”