Barbra Streisand asked Melissa McCarthy if she took Ozempic. Here's her explanation for the comment

Barbra Streisand says she only meant to pay Melissa McCarthy a compliment when she asked her publicly if she had taken Ozempic.

Streisand, 82, surprised fans on April 29 when she inquired whether McCarthy, 53, had taken Ozempic — a Type 2 diabetes drug that has been prescribed off-label by some doctors for weight loss — in the comments of an Instagram photo McCarthy posted that showed her posing with director Adam Shankman at the Center Theatre Group gala.

"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," McCarthy captioned the post.

“Give him my regards did you take Ozempic?” Streisand wrote in a since-deleted comment captured by the Comments By Celebs Instagram account.

Stunned fans commented to tell Streisand her remark to McCarthy was out of line.

"Babs. No, honey. Just no," wrote one.

"Rude, Barbra," wrote another.

The following day, Streisand responded to the commotion in a statement on social media.

"OMG — 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," wrote Streisand.

"She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment. I forgot the world is reading!" she added.

McCarthy has made it clear that she wasn't bothered by Streisand's comment, telling a photographer in a video posted by TMZ, “I think Barbra is a treasure and I love her."

Some people on X responded to Streisand's statement to say they believe her comment to McCarthy was not meant to be a negative.

"I understood where you were coming from. We shouldn’t sweat the small stuff," one person told Streisand.

"Melissa does look wonderful, and it was a compliment. I heard the post in your voice and it’s fine. No big whoop!" wrote someone else.

Others pointed out that Streisand's comment may have gone over better if she had made it to McCarthy in private.

"Someone needs to show you how to send a DM versus tweeting for the whole world to see," one person told Streisand, adding, "I’m here for you, Babs."

Streisand and McCarthy first met when they performed a duet of “Anything You Can Do” from the musical “Annie Get Your Gun" on Streisand's 2016 Broadway-themed album "Encore."

McCarthy opened up about the experience last year to Entertainment Weekly, revealing that she expected Streisand to act regal in person.

“That’s what I almost wanted. And then, 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," recalled McCarthy.

“She’s so who she is,” said McCarthy. “And also, when someone who you think you should be curtseying to keeps eating lunch meat, it really kind of levels the playing field. It was really charming. I was like, ‘You’re really pounding lunch meat.’ She’s like, ‘Yeah.’”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com