Elle Magazine Suffers Backlash For Melissa McCarthy's Covered-Up Cover Shot

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Elle magazine is taking heat for its November cover featuring actress Melissa McCarthy wearing a loose-fitting coat.

The magazine's annual "Women In Hollywood" has five different covers of famous females. The others feature slender stars Penelope Cruz, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley and Marion Cotillard.

Witherspoon is seen on her cover in a sleek black dress, Woodley dons a bathing suit, and Cotillard wears a sports bra. Cruz's cover is a close-up of her face.

McCarthy's cover has caused a stir among some critics who say it looks like the magazine tried to hide the "Mike and Molly" star's plus-size figure.

"Why are you trying to cover her up?" plus-size supermodel and body image expert Emme told OMG Insider's Kevin Frazier. "It's almost like a slap across the face.

"It stands out amongst the rest of them that she is really being covered. I wish that there was another shot on the cover that was more celebratory, that was more owning herself."

McCarthy told Frazier earlier in the week that she loved the cover.

"That's a magazine I grew up with," she said. "And I don't know, I hadn't done anything quite like that. So I was nervous, but it was really, really fun. It was amazing."

Elle released a statement Thursday 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."

The coat controversy took off on Twitter, sparking a wide range of reaction among social media users.

Here are how some are reacting on Twitter.

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