Melissa McCarthy has responded to Barbra Streisand asking whether she has taken the drug Ozempic, as demand for the drug surges among those who want to lose weight.

Musical star Streisand has deleted her comment below the Bridesmaids star’s social media post, following an online backlash.

Instead, Streisand has insisted she was trying to pay her fellow actress a “compliment”.

In an Instagram video on Wednesday, McCarthy said: “The takeaway, Barbra Streisand knows I exist, she reached out to me and she thought I looked good. I win the day.”

McCarthy also spent the clip leafing through a magazine featuring Streisand on the cover, while wearing the same floral outfit from the premiere of her Netflix film Unfrosted in Los Angeles.

The fuss came after the actor posted pictures on social media from the Centre Theatre Group gala earlier this week. They showed her wearing a pastel green tulle dress with a matching blazer, alongside US director Adam Shankman in a baby pink suit.

Underneath the post, Streisand wrote: “Give him my regards, did you take Ozempic?” referencing the type 2 diabetes medicine, which has not been licensed as a weight-loss drug in Britain or the US.

Melissa McCarthy with director Adam Shankman. Photo: Getty

Streisand later deleted the comment, and posted an Instagram story, saying: “I went on Instagram to see the photos we’d posted of the beautiful flowers I’d received for my birthday.

“Below them was a photo of my friend Melissa McCarthy, who I sang with on my Encore album.

“She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment.

“I forgot the world is reading!”

Known for Yentl, Funny Girl and The Prince Of Tides, Streisand is one of a handful of performers to have achieved Egot status – she was won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony during her career.

Barbra Streisand, pictured in February, is a Hollywood legend. Photo: Getty

Her comments come after Oprah Winfrey starred in a TV special titled Shame, Blame, And The Weight-Loss Revolution.

The special focused on weight-loss medication, which Winfrey has previously admitted to taking, although she has not specified which medication.

Ozempic can be prescribed only for patients with type 2 diabetes.

“It is not authorised for weight-loss, but it is used off-label for that purposem,” the British government acknowledges.

In Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved Ozempic as safe to use to treat type 2 diabetes but it has not yet been approved for weight loss.

The TGA has also approved Wegovy (a higher dose of semagtlutide) for weight loss. However, it has not so far been available in Australia.

-with AAP