14 DAY TRIAL // Comedienne Melissa McCarthy is one of the four women who got their own Elle cover for November Women in Hollywood issue but, clearly, fans are very unhappy with the way she was styled for the shoot.
Melissa, Reese Witherspoon, Penelope Cruz, and Shailene Woodley grace the four different covers of the special issue but, as Us Weekly also points out, it’s only Melissa that’s covered practically from head to foot.
Since the photo came out, there’s been a lot of talk about whether Elle isn’t shading the famously heavier actress by having her “swamped” by a coat, with hair covering almost half her face.
Culture editor June Thomas of Slate seems to think this is precisely what’s happening here; in other words, Thomas and many others are accusing Elle of fat-shaming a talented actress or, best case scenario, of opting to cover her up because they don’t know what to do with her on a shoot.
In response to the controversy, Elle has issued a statement to say that they’re not sorry for the cover photo because there is nothing to feel sorry for.
“On all of our shoots, our stylists work with the stars to choose pieces they feel good in, and this is no different: Melissa loved this look, and is gorgeous on our cover. We are thrilled to honor her as one of our Women in Hollywood this year,” the statement reads.
And that’s that.
However, those who took offense with the photo aren’t about to be pacified this easily.
“[She] was photographed in a Marina Rinaldi coat so huge that she could hide her Mike and Molly co-star Billy Gardel underneath. McCarthy’s hair covers a quarter of her gorgeous face, and with her hands stuffed deep into her coat pockets, the only visible flesh is a tiny triangle between the coat’s lapels and the briefest glimpse of calf,” Thomas writes.
Even celebrity publication Us Weekly believes that there’s more to the difference between this photo and the covers of the other 3 women. What do you think? Is Elle guilty of fat-shaming or is this just a case of picking the best style for Melissa – one that she liked too?