# Why Is Melissa McCarthy The Most Important Human on the Planet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584 "2016-08-12T18:20:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/1 "2016-08-12T18:20:40Z")
As I’m browsing around the internet I have occasion to click on any number of new stories. Most of them have clickbait embedded within them, of course, and I swear to God, on 90% of them it’s about how Melissa McCarthy is gone, or dying, or quitting, or some damn thing: MCCARTHY IS GONE MELISSA MCCARTHY FANS DEVASTATED MELISSA IS LEAVING FOREVER OH JESUS MERCIFUL CHRIST MELISSA IS BEING LAUNCHED INTO THE SUN That last one might be a joke but I’ve actually read the first three. And I mean I’ve seen this clickbait ten thousand times. Why is this? I guess maybe she’s quitting her show, but people quit shows all the time; why is there so much damn clickbait about this person? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/2 "2016-08-12T18:23:17Z")
I can honestly say, hand on heart that I’ve never heard of her. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/3 "2016-08-12T18:24:33Z")
Might have something to do with cookies and your browsing history, because I’m not seeing those. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/4 "2016-08-12T18:31:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > As I’m browsing around the internet I have occasion to click on any number of new stories. Most of them have clickbait embedded within them, of course, and I swear to God, on 90% of them it’s about how Melissa McCarthy is gone, or dying, or quitting, or some damn thing: > > MCCARTHY IS GONE > MELISSA MCCARTHY FANS DEVASTATED > MELISSA IS LEAVING FOREVER > OH JESUS MERCIFUL CHRIST MELISSA IS BEING LAUNCHED INTO THE SUN > > That last one might be a joke but I’ve actually read the first three. And I mean I’ve seen this clickbait ten thousand times. > > Why is this? I guess maybe she’s quitting her show, but people quit shows all the time; why is there so much damn clickbait about this person? Fellow southern Ontarian here. I get the same sort of clickbait stuff centering on Melissa McCarthy. Used to be kinda ambiguous like “She left too soon” and now it’s “Melissa McCarthy DEAD” ---
**Author:** ![PlumBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@PlumBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlumBob)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/5 "2016-08-12T18:34:55Z")
Had to Google her, then I was like, oh ya it’s that chick from those movies. Now that I’ve Googled her maybe I’ll start seeing what the Op’s seeing. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/6 "2016-08-12T18:40:18Z")
Apparently she was the victim of a death hoax, complete with Facebook condolence page. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/7 "2016-08-12T18:49:20Z")
**Moderator Action** > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Apparently she was the victim of a death hoax, complete with Facebook condolence page. That seems to answer the OP factually. Let’s move this to Cafe Society so that folks can give their thoughts and opinions about the actress in addition to any factual information that might come to light about the current situation. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/8 "2016-08-12T18:53:14Z")
I was getting some of those while I was here the other day…and I thought it was just the usual crap you get from content ads now days ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/9 "2016-08-12T19:05:39Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > As I’m browsing around the internet I have occasion to click on any number of new stories. Most of them have clickbait embedded within them, of course, and I swear to God, on 90% of them it’s about how Melissa McCarthy > \ > why is there so much damn clickbait about this person? There’s tons of clickbait about any random topic. The real question is: why are _you_ seeing so much of it. Our experience browsing the internet is increasingly personal. Most of what we see is what our social network and/or some algorithm thinks is most likely to interest us. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/10 "2016-08-12T19:09:36Z")
I’ve been seeing these ads a lot in the Windows Solitaire games in Win10. There seems to be a limited set of click-bait ads in rotation there, but that one comes up a LOT. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/11 "2016-08-12T19:18:43Z")
I’ve been seeing loads of Melissa McCarthy clickbait for months and months as well. “The REAL reason McCarthy left”, “She left us too soon”, etc etc. At first I assumed she just left or was canned from some sit-com but, Christ people, it’s been like a year now since these started. I don’t read celebrity stuff, never watched (much less read articles about) her shows and the rest of my Taboola clickbait crap is the normal “Twenty People You Wouldn’t Have Dreamed Alive (No. 7 is Amazing)” and “Secret Obama Plan Can Reduce Your Mortgage” nonsense. So it doesn’t seem particularly targeted to me. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/12 "2016-08-12T19:26:47Z")
The real question is how do people find her funny? I still don’t get it. She is one of those comedians that people love, especially industry people (same goes for Kristen Wiig & will Ferrell) that I find painfully unfunny instead. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/13 "2016-08-12T19:44:59Z")
She was great hosting SNL. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/14 "2016-08-12T19:52:13Z")
I haven’t clicked any of the ads, but [apparently it’s actually an ad about a weight loss supplement.](http://www.pajiba.com/trade_news/whats-the-deal-with-the-melissa-mccarthy-mike-molly-ad-.php) > [@](#): > > So what’s up with the ad? It turns out, the ad is for a weight-loss supplement that’s being advertised on a site that purports to be TMZ (it is not TMZ). This particular weight supplement was allegedly used by McCarthy (unlikely), which led to her shedding 50 pounds in five weeks, which led to the cancellation of the show, because she was too thin to continue playing an overweight wife. > > \ > > The domain is not actually [TMZ.com](http://TMZ.com), but TMZ Celebrity News, and if you click on the home domain, it strangely takes you to a Google Map. Doing a WhoIs lookup unsurprisingly provided no identifying information, although it says that domain was created only two weeks ago. That ad has been around for months, so I am assuming that the sellers of Garcinia Cambogia Extract run these ads on a domain until they are caught and shut down, at which point they run it on another domain to elude being identified. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/15 "2016-08-12T19:53:12Z")
Me too, I was seeing it everywhere for a while. ( And, in case you think the algorithms are everything, I STILL routinely get things in my feed for London England. Adverts and such, holiday deals, it never stops! As a result I don’t see smart devices quite as smart as most people seem to think!) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/16 "2016-08-12T20:24:44Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > There’s tons of clickbait about any random topic. No, the [Melissa McCarthy stuff is unusually common](http://chainsawsuit.com/comic/2016/08/08/a-premiere-class-of-advertising/). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/17 "2016-08-12T20:58:08Z")
I’ve been seeing this damned ad almost every time I open the CNN website on my phone, always in the relatively prominent “below the fold” spot between the top stories and the next block of stories. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/18 "2016-08-12T21:04:05Z")
I had never heard of Melissa McCarthy and never have seen her clickbait. I would gladly endure some of it in exchange for the clickbaity weird-fruit-that-looks-like-a-human-boob, how-to-fix-crepey-skin and Obama-wants-you-to-refinance-your-mortgage-now. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/19 "2016-08-12T22:26:11Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I had never heard of Melissa McCarthy and never have seen her clickbait. I am sure you have heard of her family. She is Jenny McCarthy’s much heavier and less attractive cousin but still famous in her own right. She is an actress/comedian. I don’t think I have ever seen any of her work but I may have and not realized it because she doesn’t have conventional Hollywood looks. I have seen clickbait articles with her as an entry but not noticeably often. If someone is getting them very frequently, it just means that the AI has figured out that they have a secret crush on her. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584/20 "2016-08-13T01:07:23Z")
I haven’t noticed any clickbait-y things about Melissa McCarthy recently. Well, now that I think of it, I did see something about her weight loss secret or whatever a few days ago, but I’m pretty sure not more than once. She’s come up in entertainment section stories in recent months because she’s one of the stars of the new _Ghostbusters_ movie and will also be appearing in the new _Gilmore Girls_ series on Netflix (she played a popular supporting character in the original run of the show). But it doesn’t seem to me like she’s been getting an unusual amount of press coverage. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-melissa-mccarthy-the-most-important-human-on-the-planet/762584.md?page=2)