Jenny McCarthy is speaking out after her cousin Melissa McCarthy was insulted by film critic Rex Reed in his review of her latest movie, "Identity Thief."
"When you have talent, you have talent. People shouldn't personally attack anyone who's in front of the camera," Jenny said on Tuesday's Access Hollywood Live.
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In Reed's review in The New York Observer of Melissa's latest comedy (which topped the box office over the weekend), he referred to the actress as "tractor-sized," "a humongous creep" and a "female hippo."
"Judge the work, but not the way someone looks," Jenny said of the scathing comments.
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The "The Jenny McCarthy Show" host explained to Billy Bush and Kit Hoover that she's used to Hollywood's inclination to pigeonhole people based on their appearance.
"I came out here posing for Playboy, it's the first thing I did... I might get stereotyped as a bimbo or a sexpot. I have to realize that I'm playing a character and they're buying into that, when really, I'm really freaking smart," she said with a smile.
The beauty explained that she's worked hard to shake up how people perceive her.
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"When I first moved out here, I really made a point that said, 'OK, I'm going to use my image to get in the door, but I have to use my brain to keep it going,'" Jenny said.
Adding, "It took a lot more than my implants to keep me going."
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"The Jenny McCarthy Show" airs on Fridays at 10:30/9:30c on VH1.
-- Jesse Spero
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