Bridesmaids’ Wendi McLendon-Covey Reveals Why She Wasn’t At The Oscars

Sometimes, you simply have to bow out of bridesmaid duties — whether it’s an actual wedding or the Academy Awards.

At the March 15 Oscars, five stars of the beloved comedy Bridesmaids gathered to celebrate the film’s 15-year anniversary while presenting the awards for Best Original Score and Best Sound. While fans were delighted to see Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, and Melissa McCarthy, they wondered why Wendi McLendon-Covey (who played Rita in the 2011 film) was not present for the reunion.

“Do they not care wendi is not there,” one fan asked on X (formerly Twitter), while another voiced their frustration: “NO BRIDESMAIDS REUNION WITHOUT WENDI!!!!!!!!!!”

Where Is Wendi?

It seems several concerned viewers went straight to the source. Later in the evening, McLendon-Covey wrote on Instagram that she’d received DMs asking about her absence. She wasted no time clarifying: “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. 😘”

Driving the point home, the actor — who currently stars in the NBC mockumentary St. Denis Medical — shared a selfie in which her face is wrapped in gauze.

Director Paul Feig had previously addressed McLendon-Covey’s absence from the planned reunion, telling Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet, “I just heard that she was not available. So, she might even be traveling — I’m not sure. But, we will miss her terribly, ‘cause I love Wendi. And Wendi’s working constantly.”

The Future Of Bridesmaids

Feig also weighed in on the potential of a Bridesmaids sequel. “They all have such great careers now. They’re all working, so I’m not worried about them at all,” he said. “But I do miss having them all together, so who knows? It’s kind of up to Kristen Wiig, though.”

Wiig and Annie Mumolo co-wrote the film, for which they earned a Best Original Screenplay nod at the 2012 Oscars. “I would never dare get in their way or be too presumptive,” he said.

Indeed — and sadly for fans — Wiig has said she does not plan to bring back Bridesmaids. In fact, a sequel has “never been a conversation,” she shared with The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. “That story had an end, and it’s so beloved to me for 10 million reasons, and I think it’s OK to just have it exist in the world as it is.”