McCarthy and Feig respond to The Heat poster controversy

Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig have responded to the recent controversy over the promo posters used to advertise their new comedy 'The Heat'.

The posters emerged earlier this month, with the UK version in particular appearing to have severely airbrushed 'Bridesmaids' star McCarthy to the point that she was barely recognisable.

The treatment of the picture also appeared to have made the plus-size actress slimmer.

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Feig told the Huffington Post: “It's a bummer. I love Melissa exactly how she is.”

He added that he has 'very little to do' with the marketing materials used for his films, 'especially in the foreign markets'.

Meanwhile, McCarthy, when asked about the poster herself, joked to the Hollywood Reporter that her husband, actor and director Ben Falcone, was responsible.

“Ben did it, and we had a big fight about it because I said I wanted it 80 percent smaller and he said he wanted it 70 percent,” she said.

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It's not the first time that such image editing has been employed for promo and marketing materials.

McCarthy was also made to look thinner in some of the promotional material for 'Bridesmaids', while various actresses have fallen foul of the airbrush in recents years.

'The Heat', starring McCarthy and Sandra Bullock, is out on July 31.