Melissa McCarthy, 50, shows off her hourglass figure in a skintight dress – Daily Mail

Melissa McCarthy thinks we are living through a weird time of hate.

The 50-year-old movie star told InStyle magazine that with all the fighting – she especially loathes people who will not wear a mask – she wonders what the future of the US will be.

‘I think the scariest thing about all of this more so than even COVID is that I truly didn’t think people hated each other that much or hated the idea of people who they don’t even know. I always wonder, “Do racists know anyone of a different color?”‘ the Oscar-nominated comedienne said.

The Heat actress added: ‘People who are homophobic: “Do you know anyone gay or bi or trans? Do you know these people, or is it the great unknown?”‘ 

And she thinks the next 10 years everyone will be figuring out why people are so angry; there will also more questions about mental illness. ‘I mean, because the whole QAnon thing, that pizzas are eating babies and then they’re going to Mars and coming back. It might as well be that.’

The haters should see doctors.

‘I want to get mad, and I do get incredulous about how insane it is. But who’s going to help people? If you’ve lost any sense of reality, we can’t get mad. People aren’t just wrong. They need help.’

The star added she hopes her comedy helps.

‘I’m not smart enough to know how to purify the water, but I can throw myself down a flight of stairs and hope that it lets someone forget their troubles.’

Luckily, she has been having the time of her life while in Byron Bay, Australia to shoot the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers alongside Nicole Kidman and Bobby Cannavale.

She told InStyle magazine that she could stay in the country forever because she loves the ‘chatty’ people.

‘I am connected to Australia in a way that I didn’t anticipate. I could very easily live here for the rest of my life. I’m in love with it,’ the Bridesmaid star said. ‘Everyone is so chatty. I’m a Midwestern gal who lives in L.A., where no one wants to talk to you. And here I’ll be in the grocery store, and I can’t go down a single aisle without talking to somebody. It’s wonderful. I come home, and I will have had 15 conversations.’

And she is not often recognized.

‘I’d say 60/40. There’s a funny thing here of I think I’m recognized, but that has nothing to do with why they’re talking to me. I’m out buying grapes, and they’re like, “What do you think of these?” Then there are other times when someone asks, “Oh, what are you, American? Are you working here [on a movie]? Good for you. Do you get lines?” [laughs].’

She has been in the country for nine months and she will stay longer to make the Netflix series, God’s Favorite Idiot, written by her husband, Ben Falcone.  

‘We were supposed to shoot in L.A., and, obviously, that wasn’t going to happen,’ said the actress who looks slender in the shoot in a tight green dress.

‘And in between cleaning grapefruits and laundry I got a call asking what I thought about going to Byron Bay to shoot it. I said, “I can’t pick up a family during a pandemic. I can’t even go down the street to a store.” 

‘And then Vivian, my 13-year-old, came out so glazed over from sitting on a Zoom class. I was like, “I just had the weirdest call. Someone asked if we want to move to Australia to do Nine Perfect Strangers.” 

‘And she didn’t even take a beat. She went, “We should leave today. We can’t see friends. And isn’t Australia one of the safest places on the planet?” And then I looked up Byron Bay, and I was like,”What an idiot. It’s heaven.”‘

Melissa said she feels a little bad about how much fun she is having Down Under.

‘I feel weirdly guilty. But then part of my ploy is to try and get more people here, which is not really my place. I’m sure the government would be like, “You can’t do that. Shut up.” Ben says, “You can’t just tell people to hop on a plane and go to Australia.” I was like, “Well, I’m trying to create the world I want.”‘ 

As far as her incredible career, she says she is still shocked by it.

‘Fifteen years ago, if you would’ve said, “Oh, by the way, you and Ben are going to be able to write and make movies like the dumb stories that we used to do on the stage of the Groundlings improv theater in L.A.,” we would have been like, “Really? Is that possible?”‘ said the star who got her start on Gilmore Girls.

‘The way we do things still feels very grassroots. I think of us as circus people in that we just kind of travel around and put on a show. It’s like getting an invite to a party where you’re like, “Oh, I didn’t know they knew I existed.”

And she is ‘quite happy’ being an actor.

‘I went into acting because I find other people more interesting. I love getting out of myself and into someone else, so when the light gets shone on me as opposed to a character, I just feel like I’m off.’

And McCarthy said she went overboard at the start of the pandemic.

‘My mom had come out for the winter and stayed with us, which was incredible. My dad had gone home a little early, so she got stuck. She stayed five months, which was amazing. I haven’t lived with my mom every day since I was 18 years old. To have that time with her again was unbelievable.’

But she said they were in a panic.

‘It was the panic of “What do you have to wash?” We had washing stations in our garage, and we would leave things there. We were in hazmat suits. I just remember scrubbing the outside of grapefruits with soap and water and then [dipping them] into a vinegar bath. We didn’t know what was safe enough. The amount of scrubbing and cleaning was crazy. Ben was like, “Are you Cloroxing the outsides of the apple? Should we be eating it?” It was just nuts.’

She was photographed by Charles Dennington/M.A.P., styled by Vanessa Coyle/The Artist Group with her hair by Richard Kavanagh/DLMAU and makeup by Amanda Reardon/Vivien’s Creative.  The location was The Range Byron Bay.