Why Wendi McLendon-Covey Wasn’t at the Bridesmaids Oscar Reunion

For my money, the funniest comedy sketch at this year’s Academy Awards was the presenter banter provided by five of the stars of Bridesmaids, the raunchy R-rated comedy that became one of the biggest movies of the 2010s. The film, directed by Paul Feig, came out in summer of 2011, so we’re just a few weeks away from its 15th anniversary. The joint appearances by Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, and Ellie Kemper at the Oscars was something of a reunion.

But if you remember Bridesmaids’ iconic poster, you know that there were six women in film’s main cast, meaning there was one star missing at the Academy Awards, Wendi McLendon-Covey. A few hours after the show, McLendon-Covey, who went on to star on the TV series The Goldbergs and St. Denis Medical in the years after Bridesmaids, posted about her absence on her Instagram account.

“In response to some of the dms I’m getting,” McLendon-Covey wrote, “I had a neck lift last week because I’m tired of looking like a melting candle. So I had to skip the Academy Awards.”

“No drama,” she added. “Everything is fine. 😘”

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Although Bridesmaids didn’t win at the Oscars back in 2012, it did at least receive two nominations, one for Best Supporting Actress for Melissa McCarthy, and one for Best Original Screenplay by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo. Given the Academy’s general bias against comedies, just getting those nominations was pretty impressive.

McCarthy was later nominated for a second Oscar, for Best Actress, for the film Can You Ever Forgive Me? Bridesmaids co-star Rose Byrne was nominated for Best Actress last night for her work in the film If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You. She ultimately lost to actress Jessie Buckley for the film Hamnet.

You can watch the full Bridesmaids reunion at the Academy Awards below. The full list of this year’s Oscar winners can be seen here.