Melissa Rauch is fairly beloved for her time playing Bernadette on Big Bang Theory, which has led to countless opportunities, including the revival of Night Court. Amid the interest in her new show, fans are hoping to learn more about Melissa apart from her persona as Bernadette.
An older interview with Conan O'Brien, however, drew commentary from people who both related to her and those who condemned her criticisms of certain possibly marginalized groups.
Melissa Rauch Shared Her 'Terrifying' Fear With Conan
Melissa Rauch chatted with Conan O'Brien about various subjects, including her husband. When asked about her hubby, who she's been married to since 2007, Melissa praised how tall he is, but also described situations where she felt like people judged the couple for their height difference.
Melissa's husband, Winston Beigel, is apparently 6'3", almost a foot and a half taller than his famous wife.
Rauch explained that when she and Larroquette go out in public, people often do double-takes, and short men seem angry about it.
Her other fear, however, was something that resonated with audiences a bit more: Melissa says she's "petrified" of "13-year-old girls."
She elaborated that as an adult now, she still has bad memories of being picked on by teen girls who were, obviously, her peers at the time. When she encounters teen girls in the wild, she wants to feel "included by them," the actress explained.
She related an incident where she was out to dinner and was seated (with her husband) at a table of teen girls celebrating a birthday.
Rauch claimed she was 'making out with' her husband to try and prove she was cool, which Conan called "pervy," given that Rauch said she was making eye contact withe the girls while smooching on her husband.
Though many comments on the YouTube clip from the show, as well as online discussions of the interview, focused on things like how Melissa's voice sounds different from Bernadette's from Big Bang Theory, there were some people who called out her comments as problematic.
Some Commenters Related To Melissa's Fear Of Teens
A handful of commenters on YouTube totally related to Melissa's fear of teens, saying that after being bullied themselves, they had the same mental block as the actress does.
While not everyone agreed that making out with her husband in front of a bunch of teens (in public, at a restaurant) made sense, they understood her irrational fear. Even Conan seemed sympathetic (apart from the pervy bit).
A commenter shared that they "get" the fear of teens, saying, "whenever I'm around teens, I fear they view me as around their age instead of an adult and I'm a bit traumatised by teens."
Others agreed that teens are critical of everything at that age, and that there's no winning if teenagers decide they don't like a person for whatever reason.
Of course, there's no telling whether Melissa's story is actually true, because despite Big Bang Theory ending years ago, it's unlikely that even today's teenagers wouldn't know who she is.
Melissa didn't share what the teens said to her, if anything, so it's hard to say whether her perception of the situation is the same as the teens'.
Her commentary on the short men scenario, however, drew plenty of ire from commenters.
Was Melissa Rauch Criticizing Short Men?
In the Conan interview, Melissa pointed out that when she's out with her husband, "short men" judge them. Imitating the way these men apparently look at her and her husband, Melissa said they seem to think, "stick with your own kind."
She elaborated that a group of short, single men in her neighborhood make her "live in fear" that they'll "throw like a brick through [their] window just to send a message."
Conan labeled it "discrimination" as Melissa explained that she and her husband "get the eye."
The bit was clearly meant to be humorous, but not everyone found it funny.
Melissa, who is 4'11" tall, had a box in front of her seat on Conan, ostensibly to make getting into her chair easier and keep her legs from dangling. Many commenters noticed this, with one summing up the apparently shared thought; "And she still thinks she can make fun of short guys."
It's worth noting that Melissa also needed a "secret prop" when sitting next to Leonard on BBT due to her height...
One commenter wrote, "As if we short guys don't have it bad enough..." Another wrote that they were "kinda offended," while one commenter dove a lot deeper into the controversy and why Melissa's statements were offensive.
They wrote, "It's mildly offensive because it's pure projection."
Summing up the entire conversation, the commenter noted, "This is a psychological phenomenon is which she self-justifies her irrational disdain for short guys and younger girls by making up negative things about them."
In short, that commenter didn't believe the stories at all, and doesn't seem to think that Melissa and her "tall husband" would get any flak from anyone, let alone their neighbors, for their height difference.
That said, Melissa's interview on Conan was a decade before her premiere on Night Court, and likely didn't impact her career or public perception of her. At least, it didn't at the time.
