Melissa McCarthy Recalls Working on 'Hostile' Set That Made Her 'Physically Ill'

'The Little Mermaid' star is opening up about a work environment she found both "hostile" and "volatile."

May 23, 2023 - 21:08

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Melissa McCarthy Recalls Working on 'Hostile' Set That Made Her 'Physically Ill'

Melissa McCarthy is coming forward about a work environment she found both "hostile" and "volatile."

Although The Little Mermaid star didn’t name the film set the situation took place in or who the person was, she did recall feeling "physically ill" from the strenuous workplace conditions.

"I did work for someone once who ran such a volatile, hostile set that it made me physically ill. My eyes were swelling up, I was absorbing all of this nuttiness," McCarthy tells The Observer. "There were people weeping, visibly so upset by this one person. 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. It was very effective."

McCarthy says she initially remained quiet but eventually spoke up about the hostile work conditions.

"Then 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," she laments.

McCarthy says she used this experience to help run her own production company, On the Day Productions, with her husband, Ben Falcone.

“You know, we were so astounded and grateful at getting to build our own little worlds. We were like, 'We have to build the one we’ve always talked about, where everybody gets to have an opinion and everyone is really nice,'" she shares. "It’s going to run a lot better with no screamers or crazy egos bumbling around. Why would we risk destroying that?"

When hiring someone to work on an On the Day movie, she says the couple does a "crazy check" because they "demand" kindness on their productions.

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