The unexpected reason a Bridesmaids star wasn’t part of the reunion skit at the Oscars

The stars of Bridesmaids reunited in a cheeky skit at the 2026 Oscars. One of the iconic leads wasn’t part of this, though – and the reason she gave is super unexpected.

Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig assembled on stage at the Oscars to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the iconic rom-com. The group read out (fake) letters from other actors, and joked about “aging well” and how “all the things [they’ve] done to [their] faces are very tasteful”. The cast also presented the awards for Best Original Score to Ludwig Goransson for Sinners, then Best Sound to F1.

One key cast member was missing from this reunion, though. Wendi McLendon-Covey – who starred as Lilian’s sexually frustrated cousin Rita – wasn’t there.

Ellie Kemper as Becca and Wendi McLendon-Covey as Rita in Bridesmaids
(Image via Universal Pictures)

Wendi McLendon-Covey has detailed the reason why. She shared a picture to Instagram of her recovering from surgery. Ironically, she couldn’t be in the skit because of things she’s done to her face.

She wrote: “In response to some of the DMs I’m getting: I had a neck lift last week because I’m tired of looking like a melting candle. So I had to skip the Academy Awards. No drama. Everything is fine.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wendi McLendon-Covey (@wendimclendoncovey)

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I feel Rita would probably prioritise these commitments in the same way.

There doesn’t seem to be any beef between Wendi McLendon-Covey and the Bridesmaids stars who did take part in the Oscars. Ellie Kemper commented underneath Wendi’s post: “Beautiful gull!!”

(Image via Instagram)

Bridesmaids came out in 2011, believe it or not. Melissa McCarthy was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, plus Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo were up for Best Original Screenplay. The cast didn’t win either award, though.

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Featured image credit: Richard Harbaugh/The Academy/Shutterstock.