Melissa McCarthy "loves the cover" of November's Elle in which she appears with tousled hair and wearing an oversized coat. Critics have claimed the magazine was deliberately covering up the plus-size actress as she was barely showing any skin. The 43-year-old comedy actress is the cover for the fashion magazine's November edition which is celebrating their annual 'Women in Hollywood' issue.

Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy "loves" the Elle cover.

This is not the first time this year the actress has come under scrutiny for being one of the very few curvy women in Hollywood, let alone in the public eye generally. In June film critic Rex Reed, whilst reviewing McCarthy's performance in Identity Theft, described the actress as "a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success." He further went on to cruelly call the actress a "hippo" and "tractor-sized."

Evidently the editor of the New York Observer was having an off day as he did allow Reed to publish the cruel and controversial review. McCarthy responded in a level headed and secure way. She stated, whilst addressing the paper, "I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate. I just thought, that's someone who's in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot. I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids who are mooning me and singing me songs."

Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy was criticised for her weight in a film review earlier this year.

Although McCarthy, in this incident did mention Western society's attitude towards body image, which she claimed is riddled with "body dysmorphia". As McCarthy is so direct, it seems unlikely the actress could be bossed around by anyone, let alone the fashionistas at Elle. According to a spokesperson for Elle: "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." The spokesperson continued by stating: "We are thrilled to honour her as one of our 'Women in Hollywood' this year." 

As for Melissa, speaking to E!, she has stated she "loves the cover." So she should - she looks beautiful! 

Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy is Elle's November cover.