Why ‘Bridesmaids’ star Wendi McLendon-Covey skipped Oscars 2026 reunion

Wendi McLendon-Covery missed out on the “Bridesmaids” reunion at the Oscars 2026 — all because she got a neck lift.

The actress, 56, revealed she had to skip the Academy Awards on Sunday because she was recovering from cosmetic surgery.

“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,” she wrote on Instagram. “So I had to skip the Academy Awards. No drama. Everything is fine. 😘.”

“The Goldbergs” alum also shared a selfie where she could be seen lying in bed with a bandage around her head.

The message came after the film’s director, Paul Feig, was asked on the red carpet why McLendon-Covey wouldn’t be joining her fellow castmates.

“I just heard that she was not available,” he told “Entertainment Tonight.”

“She might even be traveling, I’m not sure,” he added. “But we will miss her terribly, because I love Wendi.”

Fifteen years after the raunchy comedy hit movie screens, the film’s main stars — Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy and Ellie Kemper — gathered onstage at the event to present the award for best score.

Wiig, who co-wrote the movie with Annie Mumolo, kicked off their appearance by joking, “I cannot believe that it’s been 15 years. Now we are not good with numbers, but we figured out backstage that means we shot this movie in 1883.”

The cast then shared “letters” from fellow actors.

“Oh, this is strange, Rudolph, 53, read. “Well, mine says, ‘First of all, you ladies look extremely beautiful tonight.’ Thank you. ‘You’re aging well.’ Signed, Stellan Skarsgård.”

McCarthy, 55, opened her “note” purportedly also from Skarsgård.

“That happens to him a lot. I have to say,” she read, “mine is almost impossible to read. The handwriting is really pretty terrible.

“Says, ‘Hi, I’m with Stellan Skarsgård, writing my own separate note. I also agree you ladies look radiant. All the things you’ve done to your faces are very tasteful. Yours truly, Elle Fanning.’ Wait, wait, there’s more. It says, ‘Just kidding. It’s me again, Stellan Skarsgård.’”

Wiig also read a note from Oscar nominee Benicio Del Toro that read, “You guys have been talking for a long time. This bit could have been a lot shorter. This is really going on and on. You aren’t even talking about score. That’s all. Love ya lots, Benicio Del Toro. Or for those of you who refuse to learn Spanish, it’s Benedict of the Bull.”

“Bridesmaids,” which was released in 2011, snagged two Oscar nominations at the time: one for Wiig and Mumolo for their screenplay and one for McCarthy as best supporting actress.