Snubbed by her own cousin? Ridiculing a tearful reality-show contestant? Lashing out at Mariah
Carey? By the end of this video, you’ll see clearly that Jenny McCarthy isn't here
to make friends with her celebrity peers.
"I'm not really that much of like a — like a celebrity lover."
McCarthy certainly didn't hold back when the subject of Lala Kent came up during her appearance
on "Watch What Happens Live," in 2016. Calling the "Vanderpump Rules" star a quote, "full-blown
hooker" McCarthy referenced Kent's trip to Italy, which Kent had said was for a modeling
job. McCarthy said,
"I'm sorry, but the girls that go on trips with these men that have tons of money […] that,
to me, is a form of prostitution. And she says she didn't spread her legs. Everybody
else did except for her. Sure, Lala. Sure."
"I let him hit it the first night and we were inseparable."
To her credit, Kent let McCarthy off relatively easy, responding on Twitter,
"Shoutout to Jenny McCarthy for shoutin' me out […] and shoutout to Hugh Hefner for
putting that b---- on the map."
Burn. Still, the reality star seemed to have forgotten all about the beef three years later
when she agreed to be a guest on McCarthy's show.
In 2016, Tara Reid popped into McCarthy's show to promote "Sharknado 4." And the actor
wasn't impressed when talk turned to matters outside the Syfy franchise. Things got off
to a frosty start when McCarthy dug into Reid's recent appearance on "Marriage Boot Camp."
To that, Reid responded,
"It's not worth the time to talk about. […] Babe, I asked you, please let's not talk about [that]
show. We're all here about 'Sharknado.'"
When McCarthy then brought up the subject of any future plastic surgeries, Reid snapped
back, having reportedly clarified many times that she has no plans to go under the knife.
And then she left the chat.
"Oh my God. Oh my God. Tara's freaking out!"
McCarthy continued the show with,
"Good luck to you [Tara] and I'm so excited about 'Sharknado' and I hope you stay married.
I hope your knees get a little wobblier than they already are."
E! News reported that Reid's rep claimed her client had been bullied during the interview
and accused McCarthy of shifting the topic, quote, "for her personal gain."
"I just think she was just a nasty person. Like, why are you, like, picking on me, like
I didn't even understand it."
Amy Schumer certainly didn't appreciate McCarthy being so rude to Tara Reid. During an appearance
on "Opie with Jim Norton," Schumer argued,
"It really seemed like she was just bullying her. […] I mean [to be like], 'You're not
walking out of here until I hurt your feelings.' Like just what are you doing?"
Schumer also revealed that she has a personal beef with McCarthy, citing an incident in
which McCarthy was rude to one of her friends. Schumer said that she thought of taking aim
at the former Playmate on "Inside Amy Schumer" but ultimately decided against it. She added,
"I don't know Jenny, I've never met her. […] But be nice to other women, especially other women
in this disgusting f---ing business, that's all I can say."
McCarthy versus Amanda Bynes just might be the most quickly resolved celebrity feud of
all time. In 2013, a tiff between the two materialized when McCarthy tweeted that Bynes'
Manhattan apartment was being visited by cops. She posted,
"I hope they get her help. Enough of this circus."
But there wasn't a circus to supposedly be helped. And Bynes was more than happy to set
McCarthy straight, replying,
"I need help? What are you talking about? Aren't you 50 years old? I'm 27, you look
80 compared to me! Why are you talking about me? […] ​​Police weren't at my house,
old lady! Shut […] up!"
McCarthy swiftly apologized, insisting that she was simply looking out for the former
child star. Quick to forgive, Bynes soon responded,
"Thanks! I'm sorry I offended you. You're beautiful! I was lying! I'll delete our tweets!"
"I'm so sorry about everything I said. I'm so, so sorry. Can we please be friends?"
It's fair to say that McCarthy isn't exactly known for her tact. And she didn't handle
the revelation that Charlie Sheen was HIV-positive with even a shred of grace. Shortly after
the news broke, she told her show audience that the actor should have disclosed this
information years prior. Referring to several on-screen kisses she shared with Sheen on
"Two and a Half Men," she said,
"I feel like in playing a love interest, you would think there would be some type of, I
don't want to say criminal issue, but I don't even know how to feel about that."
"He's actually in a pretty vulnerable place right now."
"And you think I'm taking advantage of him?"
"Well, aren't you?
Despite the science on the matter, McCarthy went on to wonder why Sheen wouldn't be forced
to disclose his HIV status to production when she had to disclose the fact that she gets
cold sores.
But, as you'd expect, Sheen was more than happy to salvage a bit of his reputation.
He said on "The Kyle & Jackie O Show,"
"Jenny McCarthy should go back into her past and murder her math teacher, you know why?
Because her simple math skills are s---. She's like, 'I kissed him! I touched him!' And I
was like, 'B----! Your math sucks, I didn't have it then!'"
McCarthy's appointment to "The View" in 2013 wasn't greeted with universal applause. Regarding
the star's opposition to child vaccines, the Every Child by Two organization even contacted
production alleging,
"Unfounded claims that vaccines cause autism have been one of the greatest impediments
to public health in recent decades."
"You guys want me to keep it clean."
But — McCarthy's medical opinions aside — many still felt she wasn't a good casting
choice. Julie Chen, a regular co-host of "The Talk," told Howard Stern,
"What made 'The View' so popular and so good was that you had five different women from
five different walks of life discussing politics. What put them on the map and made them good
and famous, they don't do that anymore. No one wants to hear Jenny McCarthy talk about
the New York mayoral race or politics."
"That's how I feel. I don't think she was suited for what they used to do. I don't know
if they wanna change their format?"
Of course, McCarthy ultimately didn't get much of a chance to talk about anything. She
was given the boot after just a year.
The main reason why McCarthy has become a media punchline has been her anti-vax stance.
For her part, McCarthy believes her son's autism was caused by vaccines. But comedian
Jim Jefferies didn't pull any punches when he touched on the topic for his 2016 Netflix
special "Freedumb."
The Aussie reflected on a conversation he'd had with his then-girlfriend about inoculating
their son. After asking her where she got the idea that vaccines can lead to autism,
he recounted,
"She said, 'Jenny...' And I said, 'Don't even f---ing say 'McCarthy.' Don't even say it,
'cause that's not evidence, that's Jenny McCarthy."
Jefferies noted that he had nothing personal against the star but that he preferred not
to get his medical advice from a, quote, "comedian and a Playmate."
You wouldn't expect McCarthy and the frontman of All That Remains, Phil Labonte, to ever
make a headline together. But McCarthy's fervent anti-vaccine beliefs ensured that they both
popped up in the same news story in 2015. Labonte pointed the finger for the rise of
the anti-vaccine movement squarely at McCarthy, telling Radio.com,
"It's her fault! She's the one who started the whole 'You're gonna get autism' thing.
So, nice f---in' job, Jenny! But, you know, it's science. It's a real thing. It's like
this: polio isn't a problem anymore. You know why? Because of the polio vaccine!"
Labonte also suggested that people thinking in line with McCarthy should be penalized
if they choose not to have their kids inoculated. He said,
"I heard someone on the news this morning suggest a fairly realistic solution: if you
don't want to vaccinate your kids, they can't go to public school. I would […] say if
your kids aren't going to public school, that should be reflected in your taxes."
McCarthy really stepped in it when she grabbed Christina Applegate for a chat on the 2019
Emmys red carpet. It immediately became clear that McCarthy — or her producers — hadn't
done their research on the "Dead to Me" star, when McCarthy asked,
"I know you were nominated for 'Friends' being a guest star role, tonight you're nominated
for your show, first time, right? Lead Actress?"
"Ohhhh crap."
For the record, Applegate had already received two nods in the category for another sitcom,
"Samantha Who," as she was keen to point out. To add insult to injury, Applegate also won
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on "Friends." On top of all that,
McCarthy implied that she was much younger than Applegate, when in reality, there's only
a year between the two.
Based on how Applegate reacted, we're guessing she wasn't too happy with the host. Or, as
The Cut put it,
"[Christina] responds by looking like she wants to die."
When it comes to actual Hollywood cousins Jenny McCarthy and Melissa McCarthy, it just
might be the case that opposites attract. They have even, on occasion, come to each
other's defense. Jenny once stood up for Melissa following a scathing 2013 New York Observer
piece that claimed in a movie review,
"Tractor-sized Melissa McCarthy [is a] gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career
to being obese and obnoxious with equal success."
Jenny clapped back, explaining to E! News,
"For anyone to attack like that, it's just wrong and hurtful, and it doesn't do anyone
any good […] you know?"
But according to reports, things may not be as pally between the pair as Jenny likes to
make out. An insider reportedly claimed to Star that Jenny once told Melissa she'd never
make it in Hollywood due to her size — a story which Jenny later told People was total
bunk.
"We're just in opposite worlds now."
Melissa then added fuel to the fire when she admitted to Howard Stern that she would be
skipping Jenny and Donnie Walhberg's wedding because they're all living completely different
lives.
Speculation about how Donnie Wahlberg's family really feels about his wife Jenny McCarthy
has been rife ever since they first got together. Brother Mark Wahlberg got tongues wagging
when he failed to show up for the pair's wedding in 2014. As E.T. noted, Mark claimed he was
too preoccupied with his daughter Ella's birthday to attend. But it's Mark's wife, Rhea, who
appears to have the baddest blood. While Jenny was sporting a pink 'do in 2015, Rhea posted
to Twitter,
"Don't you think after age 25 it might be strange for a woman to dye her hair pink,
purple, green or any color of that sort???"
"Midlife crisis."
Donnie quickly stepped out in defense of his wife, tweeting:
"Imagine the depth of pain somebody must be in, to be unkind to another human being."
Rhea later apologized for the burn.
McCarthy made herself another semi-famous enemy in 2016 when she insulted a tearful
contestant who was eliminated from "The Bachelorette." Referring to Derek Peth, the Season 12 competitor
who was sent packing after a two-on-one date with Jojo Fletcher, McCarthy tweeted,
"Is it wrong that I have a maniacal laugh while watching Derek cry?"
"It was a really hard time for me."
Peth took umbrage with McCarthy's remark, firing back on Twitter,
"This is as acceptable as your fight against vaccines."
In 2016, Mariah Carey attempted to ring in the New Year with a medley of her greatest
hits — only to be plagued by technical mishaps. Initially, co-host McCarthy felt sorry for
Carey's plight, later sharing on her show,
"It was just, it was so bad, and then for a moment I said, 'Take a step back, Jenny,
and try to find some empathy right now.' And I did."
"How many times would we all like a second chance at something?"
But all empathy went out of the window when she learned that Carey had called out the
"New Year's Rockin' Eve" producers for using the production mishaps to embarrass her. McCarthy
snapped,
"Our egos of course want to blame everyone but [ourselves] for mistakes, but I literally
had a visceral reaction to her saying that Dick Clark Productions did this on purpose
and for ratings."
She then criticized Carey for failing to do a soundcheck, argued that her voice isn't
what it once was, and claimed Carey was standing too far away from the prompters to see that
they were actually working. Carey later took to Twitter to post,
"S--- happens. […] Here's to making more headlines in 2017."
Carey never responded directly to McCarthy, but one could argue that her silence is a
zinger in itself.
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