Melissa McCarthy Says She Worked On A Set That Was Very Toxic It Made Her Physically Unwell

The newest celebrity to open up about problematic work environments is Melissa McCarthy. She described a situation that was so toxic that it made her sick. The actress got quite candid about her experience on set but steered clear of pointing fingers at any specific person in her interview with The Guardian. McCarthy admitted that to endure the toxic environment, she had to eventually stand up for herself and her cast mates.

“I did work for someone once who ran such a volatile, hostile set that it made me physically ill,” she said. “My eyes were swelling up. I was absorbing all of this nuttiness. There were people weeping, visibly so upset by this one person,” McCarthy added. “And I think that’s why the manipulation worked, because to get to me, this person would fire people I loved, which kept me quiet.”

She continued, “One day, I was like, ‘It stops today! I just kept saying to them, it stops, it stops. And I know now I’ll never keep quiet again.” However, it appears things have changed for the actress as her The Little Mermaid co-star Halle Bailey told CNN she played a key role off-screen, teaching her how to “speak up and say what works for her on set. Bailey added, ‘She was telling me, ‘Yeah, I had to learn. I wasn’t always this way when you were young. You’re timid.’

While McCarthy is willing to talk about her terrible time on the past project, the actress concluded, assuring fans there’s almost nothing that can stop her from doing what she loves, which is making movies and making people laugh. She said, ‘Comedy allows you to sit next to somebody whose ideas don’t match up. And maybe you come out a little closer. I think that’s what I’m supposed to be doing in this world.’