JENNY MCCARTHY has defended her actress cousin MELISSA MCCARTHY after the BRIDESMAIDS star was compared to a "female hippo" by an outspoken film critic.

The Oscar-nominated actress was subjected to a scathing review of her new movie Identity Thief by New York Observer writer Rex Reed, who complained about her plus-size figure, calling McCarthy "tractor-sized," a "female hippo" and a "humongous creep".

Reed also dismissed McCarthy's career as a study in "being obese and obnoxious with equal success", and his comments prompted a backlash from the actress' friends and co-workers.

Bridesmaids director Paul Feig took to his Twitter.com page on Friday (08Feb13) to voice his distaste, writing, "For his catty and school bully name-calling of the supremely talented Melissa McCarthy, I cordially invite Mr. Rex Reed to go f**k himself."

Now, McCarthy's chat show host cousin Jenny has spoken out in her defense, branding Reed's negative comments "wrong and hurtful".

She tells E! Online, "I don't have the whole story, but I do know that, after being in this business 20 years, it's really crummy that you get attacked in your personal life in general... That's obnoxious in itself. For anyone to attack like that, it's just wrong and hurtful, and it doesn't do anyone any good - not even Rex Reed, you know? She's very talented and people know that so he can go to hell."