Melissa McCarthy says inclusivity is 'not just wonderful' but needed

Melissa McCarthy, the face of People magazine's 2023 Beautiful Issue, has expressed her views on inclusivity being a necessity and not a rare wonderful occurrence.

The Little Mermaid actress explained what inclusivity means to her, telling the mag: "I thought the younger version of myself or everybody out there who isn't the youngest or whatever... I felt like it was saying something really lovely to my younger self, to my 20-year-old self. And maybe to other people, too."

Recalling her teen years, the actress said that she was in the process of developing her own unique identity.

"I feel like the first two years were like, 'We're all going to dress alike.' Nobody wants to stand out too much. And then I was like, I think 'I'm bored.'"

Melissa then remembered how she tried the trends of her time to fit in but it didn’t work out because she wasn’t cut out to be that way.

"And then came the Mohawks and the blue hair. I mean, on the outside, I was a really good punk and gothic kid, but then I was terrible because I was really chatty. So I looked like I was going to maybe get into a fist fight. And then I was like, 'Hi! What's your name?'"

She also said that for her, inclusivity is “not just wonderful, we need it. We crave it. It's like everybody just, you want to be loved. I want to be loved."

The actress, now 52, has one simple rule of life: Just be kind.