Melissa McCarthy stuns SNL audience as fans react to her transformation

Melissa McCarthy returned to Saturday Night Live for the sixth time on 6 December, delivering her trademark physical comedy while also drawing widespread attention to her appearance.

The 55-year-old star opened the long-running NBC sketch show in a black velvet jumpsuit with her hair styled in loose waves as she set a festive tone during her monologue. Performing an energetic “mouth horn” version of Carol of the Bells, McCarthy asked the stage crew to add “a little Christmas magic” to the set.

“So how about we put a little bit of snow to get us in the holiday mood? This is SNL. Do not be stingy with the snow,” she said.

Moments later, a light flurry turned into a full avalanche of faux snow that engulfed her on stage. “Okay, that was way too much,” she joked as she cleared the snow and continued without missing a beat.

Viewers later took to social media to praise both her performance and her look, with many noting what they described as her noticeable transformation during the episode.

Melissa McCarthy! 😳 Oh my!! 😍 I’ve had a crush on her forever. I had no idea she had lost this much weight.

Still crushing! #SNL pic.twitter.com/277qq6LUIM

— Big Benny (@BigBennyRadio) December 7, 2025

Melissa McCarthy could host an entire season of SNL and it would still be good

— Frankie (@FrankiesYourFav) December 7, 2025

Later in the monologue, McCarthy was joined by SNL cast member Marcello Hernandez, dressed as one of Santa’s elves, for a chaotic piano duet. As Hernandez attempted to move the piano into position, he accidentally pulled McCarthy over the bench, slamming her hands onto the keys as she screamed in exaggerated pain.

“Now I have ruined Christmas,” she joked, prompting Kenan Thompson to reassure her before the pair launched into another festive moment.

Throughout the episode, McCarthy embraced a range of eccentric characters, including an irritable UPS delivery driver, a southern mother caught in a chaotic truth-or-dare game and the flamboyant co-creator of an elaborate Christmas village.

Earlier this year, McCarthy also made headlines after Barbra Streisand commented on one of her Instagram photos and asked whether she was taking the weight loss drug Ozempic. McCarthy later defended Streisand and responded with humour, writing that Streisand had reached out and complimented her. Streisand later clarified that she had only intended to praise McCarthy’s appearance.

McCarthy has previously spoken openly about her approach to weight. In a 2015 interview with CBS Mornings, she said she stopped letting it dominate her thinking.

“I finally said to myself, ‘Oh, for God’s sake, stop worrying about it,’ and it may be the best thing I have ever done,” she said. “There is something to loosening up and not being so nervous and rigid about it that, bizarrely, has worked.”

McCarthy’s sixth hosting appearance places her beyond Saturday Night Live’s Five-Timers Club. Looking back on her debut in 2011, she previously told Entertainment Weekly that her iconic ranch-obsessed sketch used kefir instead of real dressing during filming due to production logistics.

There are two episodes of Saturday Night Live left in 2025. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery actor Josh O’Connor will host on 13 December with Lily Allen as the musical guest. Ariana Grande will close out the year on 20 December, with Cher set to make her first SNL musical appearance since 1987.

Season 51 has already featured hosts including Bad Bunny, Amy Poehler, Sabrina Carpenter, Miles Teller, Nikki Glaser and Glen Powell.