Melissa McCarthy on ELLE US looking AMAZING. 

Melissa McCarthy’s ELLE US cover for their annual "Women in Hollywood" issue is sparking controversy all over the place. Most of the negative attention is focused on the fact that McCarthy is swathed in a coat, while the other actresses on the multiple covers (including Naomie Harris and Marion Cotillard) are wearing skin-baring clothing—or in Shailene Woodley’s case, only a bathing suit and sneakers.
Slate called McCarthy the magazine’s "token plus-size cover girl" and snarked that her Marina Rinaldi coat was "so huge that she could hide her
Mike and Molly co-star Billy Gardel underneath". In response to the controversy, ELLE US released a statement saying, "On all of our shoots, our stylists work with the stars to choose pieces they feel good in, and this is no different: Melissa loved this look, and is gorgeous on our cover. We are thrilled to honor her as one of our Women in Hollywood this year." We completely and totally agree with our sister pub. Here are four reasons why. 1. ELLE US is a fashion magazine, and this is a fashion cover.
The oversized coat is one of the season’s top trends, seen everywhere from Chloé to Rochas to Carven. 2. Putting a plus-size actress on the cover of a major fashion magazine is an act of love, and one that the editors surely had to fight for. 3.  Melissa looks great. Better than great—she looks FANTASTIC. 4. She also looks comfortable. Why should a woman be made to feel that she needs to show skin in order to show confidence? (This is 2013, friends.) In our opinion, Melissa’s cover is a much sexier than Shailene’s more obviously hot cover. As a side note, let’s call time on the trend of shooting plus-size women in the nude, as if that’s somehow a more authentic depiction of their beauty. Whether intended or not, the subtext is that fashion is off-limits for them—which is both hurtful and ridiculous. We all need to wear clothes. ELLE US showed a plus-size woman looking both beautiful and fashion-forward. Prediction: That Marina Rinaldi coat sells like hotcakes. Now tell us: What do you think?
READ MORE OF OUR DIVERSITY & FASHION STORIES:
Can using different types of models actually benefit fashion & beauty brands?
What is it really like to be a plus-size model? 
VIDEO: Our chat with diversity expert and model agent Ben Barry