New York Observer film critic Rex Reed is making no apologies for his controversial review of Melissa McCarthy’s Identity Thief, standing by his comments about the actress and refusing to take back what he said.
Among his comments about McCarthy are that she’s “tractor-sized,” a “female hippo” and a “humongous creep.”
He now tells Us Weekly, "I can only repeat what I have said before -- that I do not have, nor have I ever had, anything personal against people who suffer from obesity. What I object to is the disgusting attempt to pretend obesity is funny. It is not remotely humorous, and every obese comedian who ever made jokes about the disease are now dead from strokes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes."
He goes on to say he “apologizes for nothing,” saying "As a critic whose opinions are constitutionally protected by law, I stand by all of my original remarks about Melissa McCarthy's obesity, which I consider about as amusing as cancer.”
McCarthy has since responded to the comments, saying Reed is filled with “so much hate.”
"I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate,” she said “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 andsinging me songs."