Actress Melissa McCarthy shocked her fans when she appeared on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend.
The funnywoman paid a visit to New York City on December 6 to host the comedy sketch show for the sixth time, but it wasn’t her monologue that garnered the most attention.
The 55-year-old “Identity Thief” star has lost nearly 100 pounds, and her slimmed-down physique after her drastic weight loss journey is doing all the talking before she steps in any room these days.
It wasn’t hard to miss McCarthy’s much smaller waistline in a black velvet figure-hugging catsuit, as many online commented that she “looks great!”
“I’m really impressed by Melissa’s weight loss progress,” added another fan, prompting another to reply, “I can’t believe how much weight she lost.”
Zooming in on her outfit, one person noted, “Ok jumpsuit! She looks fab! #BodyTea.”
Some fans who first met McCarthy through 2011’s “Bridesmaids” or during her run on “Gilmore Girls” from 2000 to 2007 admitted they “barely recognized her” after comparing then-and-now photos.
Her dramatic weight loss shocked many once she opened up about taking steps toward a healthier lifestyle. Still, that didn’t stop speculation from creeping in, with one blunt comment summing up the internet’s suspicions: “Ozempic works evidently.”
While another suspected, “Wow. Have y’all seen Melissa McCarthy lately??? Did this bitch get a BBL and tummy tuck? Baby baaaad! She was a fine fat girl, but now she took it to the next level.”
However, several fans thought McCarthy didn’t lose her “thicc-ness” as one fan added, “Her weight loss is impressive but I suppose we all know how she achieved it. Her hips are still very big.”
While many believe that McCarthy used a weight loss drug to lose weight, during an appearance on “Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM” back in 2018, she said that she’s learned to lose weight slowly.
“I was like, ‘If I can de-stress and just do it slower and stop constantly trying to be on something.’ And then it actually worked better instead of being like, ‘I’m gonna not do this and do this and only drink this,'” she said. “
“Fourteen hours in, you go bat s–t crazy, so I was like, ‘I’m just gonna mellow out and give myself a break,'” she added. “After I had kids, I was just like, ‘I have to be realistic. It’s not gonna go fast.’ But I mean, I feel great.”
In 2011, McCarthy told People that when she was on “Gilmore Girls,” she went on an all-liquid diet and only consumed 500 calories per day under the supervision of a physician. She lost 70 pounds in just four months, but the actress said she would never try another liquid diet.
Melissa McCarthy is sooo cutie pie in Gilmore Girls pic.twitter.com/0Px9TtWbYU
— •☆ #1 MADELINE USHER DEFENDER ☆• (@IJSTP) October 23, 2025
“I’d never do that again,” she said. “I felt starved and crazy half the time.”
McCarthy reportedly lost weight over several years by balancing exercise and diet without obsessing over losing weight quickly.
“I could eat healthier, I could drink less,” she said. “I’m sounding like a lush, but, you know, I do what I can. I should be learning another language and working out more, but I’m just always saying, ‘Ah, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.’”
The “Spy” actress is married to fellow actor Ben Falcone, and they share two children — daughters Vivian Falcone, 18, and 15-year-old Georgette Falcone.
