Melissa McCarthy: Plus-size labels segregate women

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Melissa McCarthy is about to launch her first size 16 to 24 fashion collection, Melissa McCarthy Seven7, and plans on changing the plus-size industry in the process.

The Bridesmaids star has taken issue with the actual label of plus-size and how she feels it segregates women when stores separate those sizes from the others.

In an interview with Refinery 29 Monday, McCarthy revealed that she is finally going to take action with her new line as retailers begin to listen to her message.

"I don't like the segregated plus section," McCarthy said. "You're saying: 'You don't get what everybody else gets. You have to go shop up by the tire section. 'I have a couple of very big retailers that I think are going to help me chip away at that in a very meaningful way, and I'm really excited about it. I'm not ready to announce them yet, but they agreed to just put me on the floor. I said 'Run the sizes as I make them and let friends go shopping with their friends. Stop segregating women.' And they said, 'Okay.'"

McCarthy plans on simplifying things and catering to a a group of women the star believes is being ignored by other designers.

'Women come in all sizes. Seventy percent of women in the United States are a size 14 or above, and that's technically 'plus-size' so you're talking about your biggest category of people and telling them, 'You're not really worthy.' I find that very strange." she told Refinery 29. "I just think, if you're going to make women's clothing, make women's clothing. Designers that put everyone in categories are over-complicating something that should be easy."

Currently, Melissa McCarthy Seven7 is available on HSN. McCarthy will next be seen next summer in Ghostbusters.