Barbra Streisand “forgot the world is reading” when she asked Melissa McCarthy on Instagram if she’d jumped on the celebrity Ozempic bandwagon.

The 82-year-old ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers’ singer, blurted the question after ‘Bridesmaids’ actress Melissa, 53, posted a carousel of images on the social media platform of her and choreographer Adam Shankman, 59, outside the Centre Theatre Group Gala in Los Angeles, showing her wearing a pastel green blazer and dress.

After fans of Melissa’s blasted Barbra for “body shaming” the ‘Bridesmaids’ actress, the singer said on Instagram Stories about her since-deleted post: “I went on Instagram to see the photos we’d posted of the beautiful flowers I’d received for my birthday! Below them was a photo of my friend Melissa McCarthy who I sang with on my ‘Encore’ album.

“She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment. I forgot the world is reading!”

Melissa captioned the images that prompted Barbra’s Ozempic question: “Pastels only to honor the incredible @matthewbourne13 at the @ctgla gala last night with this fella @adamshankman !! Thiiiiis much closer to my dream of dancing on stage (dancing and green heart emojis.)”

Barbra responded in the comments: “Give him my regards did you take Ozempic?”

Instagram users branded Barbra everything from stupid to rude after her query.

Others defended Barbra, saying she would never intentionally try and mock Melissa.

One said: “Babs is 82‍ (shrugging emoji) kinda par for the course, old people do not know how (stuff)works nor do they (care.)”

Melissa has been open about her up-and-down weight for years, and once said she has been “every size on the planet” during her life.

She once lost 70lbs by turning to an all-liquid diet, which she later said she’d “never” do again.

In 2015, she dropped 50lbs by changing her mindset away from an obsession with her figure – telling Life and Style at the time: “I truly stopped worrying about it.

“I think there’s something to kinda loosening up and not being so nervous and rigid about it that, bizarrely, has worked.”

In 2016, Melissa and Barbra teamed up for a duet of ‘Anything You Can Do’, which featured on the Oscar and Grammy-winning singer’s ‘Encore’ album.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2023, Melissa said Barbra is “really funny”, adding about what surprised her about the star when they first met: “I think when she opened the door she had leggings on and lunch meat in her hand. And I was like, ‘None of this is what I expected.’”