Melissa McCarthy: ‘Enjoy And Embrace Whatever Body Type You Have’

Melissa McCarthy shares the body advice every woman needs to hear

Later this year, Melissa McCarthy will kick some ass on the big screen as one of four female Ghostbusters, but a recent interview proves she might be even more inspiring in real life than she is in the movies. McCarthy sat down with Redbook for their April issue to discuss her latest projects, and she shared some inspiring thoughts on why every woman should love the way they look.

In her interview, McCarthy talked about the pressure she feels as a woman in Hollywood and how she approaches body image issues in her own life. “There’s an epidemic in our country of girls and women feeling bad about themselves based on what .5% of the human race looks like,” says McCarthy. “My message is that as long as everybody’s healthy, enjoy and embrace whatever body type you have.”

The 45-year-old mom said she’s no stranger to body criticism, but she tries to embrace who she is and be a positive role model for her two daughters, Vivian and Georgette. “Give me your best punch in the face, and I’ll take that punch, rather than have my kid feel bad about herself,” she says.

McCarthy launched her fashion line, Seven7, last summer, and says her main goal is just encouraging women to be comfortable in their own skin. “With women, there’s this constant weird cultural thing where we’re always supposed to be comparing ourselves with one another,” she explains. “Who wore it best? Whose butt’s better? Instead, how about if everyone wins? How intensely boring would it be if we were all the same?”

McCarthy’s inspiring message could not have come at a better time. We’re barely out of winter, but already there are tiny swimsuits at every store and articles pressuring us to get in shape for summer. Even the Redbook issue that contains these inspiring quotes has a teaser on the cover that reads: “Slimming outfits to give you total confidence.” It’s so rare that women are just encouraged to be happy with who they are and enjoy life, and that’s why McCarthy’s words are so important.

So often it feels like we’re all striving to have a certain body type or fit into a certain beauty ideal, but the truth is, we’re all different heights, sizes, shapes, and colors. There’s beauty in the things that set us apart, and we shouldn’t be comparing ourselves to anyone. Instead of worrying about the ways in which fail to measure up, we should all get busy making the most of what we’ve got.