Melissa McCarthy & Ben Falcone Sparkle on Cover of Parade

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 15, 2024--

Parade, the premium legacy entertainment and lifestyle brand, released its latest cover story featuring A-list power couple, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone. For the interview, McCarthy, 54, and Falcone, 51, are sitting dressed as if they’re ready to do battle during medieval times.

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“I’m an owl wizard and she’s a sparkly warrior,” Falcone explains. McCarthy, beaming in a bright silver suit of armor, quickly corrects him: “I’m a disco warrior!”

The costumes have a special purpose. McCarthy and Falcone—married since 2005—wanted to get in the spirit of their latest joint project, a scripted comedy podcast titled Hildy the Barback and the Lake of Fire (which Falcone co-wrote with Steve Mallory). It centers on an epic quest to fight an evil force and is currently the top-rated fiction podcast on Apple.

The couple – who crossed paths as teenagers in their native Illinois and first worked together at The Groundlings comedy troupe in Los Angeles in the late 1980s – wouldn’t have it any other way.

Read the full interview here. Notable quotes are below.

On their spark
“For sure we share a similar sense of humor. We met writing and performing together before we even started dating. We love being on stage together, so that was our initial spark. It delightfully hasn’t changed.” (McCarthy)

On life around the house
“Even when we’re working around the house, Ben and I end up pitching each other projects. We’re always just super-trying to make the other person laugh.” (McCarthy)

On why they’re doing a comedy podcast
“I can't clean up the water. We can't clean up the air. We don't have those skills. But if we can maybe take somebody's mind off of things that are tricky in half-hour segments, we should at least try to do it.” (McCarthy)

On her secret past as a goth
“I'm from a little farm town in Illinois [Plainfield], so to suddenly have, like, crazy black hair and wear kabuki makeup and long capes was so much fun. But I wasn't angry at the world. I loved that you could make yourself into a different person.” (McCarthy)

On how they met, both times
“When Ben and I became friends at The Groundlings, we figured out that we went to the same parties when I was in college and you were in high school. Two weeks later, you were like, ‘I knew who you were.’”
Falcone: “Exactly, because I did. I remembered!”
McCarthy: “I was like, ‘You would not recognize me in a million years.’ And he goes, ‘No, I was afraid of you.’ I was like Robert Smith from The Cure and Bjork had a baby.”

On a quick career change
“I wanted to design women’s clothing. I moved to New York City because I wanted to go to school at FIT [Fashion Institute of Technology]. Then the second night I was here, my friend was like, ‘You're going to do stand-up.’ So, I did a stand-up routine at Stand Up NY. I called my mom and dad the next day and said, ‘'m not going back to school—I'm going to do comedy.’ And strangely, they were like, ‘It’s probably for the best.’” (McCarthy)

On her first big break
“I started as a production assistant, and then I was a production coordinator, and then my last thing was a production manager. Then, three weeks before my 30th birthday, I got Gilmore Girls. It was the first time I would say out loud I was an actor. I was pretty gobsmacked.” (McCarthy)

On which of their movies deserves a sequel
McCarthy: There are a couple that I would have done in a heartbeat.
Falcone: I'm going to start bugging Paul Feig about another Spy because that's a movie that should just happen.

On what they’re thankful for this holiday season
McCarthy: I “I'm thankful for my girls and this fella and my parents and my in-laws and my sister and her kids. I think maybe as you get a little older, you realize just how amazing it is to have everybody.”
Falcone: “I'm thankful for cool cars and cold booze. I’m the biggest jerk in the world! No, I’m thankful for family, friends and health. Having people that you love and knowing they're safe and happy, that's all you can really ask for.”

To view this story, or any of previous Parade cover stories, click here.

About Parade
Parade, the premium legacy entertainment and lifestyle brand, has been enlightening, delighting and inspiring audiences for more than 80 years. Parade is owned and operated by The Arena Group (NYSE American: AREN), an innovative technology platform and media company with a proven cutting-edge playbook that transforms media brands. Arena’s unified technology platform empowers creators and publishers with tools to publish and monetize their content, while also leveraging quality journalism of anchor brands like TheStreet, Parade, Men’s Journal and Athlon Sports to build their businesses. The company aggregates content across a diverse portfolio of brands, reaching over 100 million users monthly. Visit us at thearenagroup.net and discover how we are revolutionizing the world of digital media.

Melissa McCarthy & Ben Falcone Sparkle on Cover of Parade (Photo: Business Wire)

PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen returned to court Tuesday to appeal an embezzlement conviction, with her 2027 presidential ambitions hanging on the outcome of the case.

Le Pen, 57, is seeking to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. She was given a five-year ban from holding elected office, two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet, a further two-year suspended sentence and a 100,000-euro ($116,800) fine.

Le Pen did not talk at her arrival at the courthouse.

As the trial was starting, she stood up silently in front of the panel of three judges while reasons for the proceedings were being read by the president of the court. The room was packed with a crowd of dozens of reporters and general public.

“I hope I'll be able to convince the judges of my innocence,” Le Pen told reporters Monday. “It’s a new court with new judges. The case will be reset, so to speak.”

The appeals trial is scheduled to last for five weeks, with a verdict expected at a later date.

Le Pen was seen as the potential front-runner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election until last year's ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics. She denounced it as “a democratic scandal.”

Her National Rally party has been coming out on top in opinion polls, and Le Pen alleged that the judicial system brought out “the nuclear bomb” to prevent her from becoming France’s president.

The appeal trial, involving Le Pen, 10 other defendants and the National Rally party as a legal entity, is scheduled to last for five weeks. A panel of three judges at the appeals court in Paris is expected to announce its verdict at a later date, possibly before summer.

Several scenarios are possible, from acquittal to another conviction that may or may not bar her from running in 2027. She could also face an even tougher punishment if convicted anew — up to 10 years in prison and a 1-million euro ($1.17 million) fine.

In March, Le Pen and other party officials were convicted of using money intended for EU parliamentary assistants who instead had other duties between 2004 and 2016, in violation of EU rules. Some actually did work for the party, known as the National Front at the time, in French domestic politics, the court said.

In handing down the sentence, the judge said Le Pen was at the heart of a “system” set up to siphon off EU parliament funds — including to pay for her bodyguard and her chief of staff.

All suspects denied wrongdoing, and Le Pen argued the money was used in a legitimate way. The judge said Le Pen and the others did not enrich themselves personally.

The legal proceedings initially stemmed from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities.

The case and its fallout weigh heavily on Le Pen’s political future after more than a decade spent trying to bring the far right into France’s political mainstream. Since taking over the party from her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011, she has sought to shed its reputation for racism and antisemitism, changing its name, expelling her father in 2015 and softening both the party’s platform and her own public image.

That strategy has paid dividends. The National Rally is now the largest single political group in France’s lower house of parliament and has built a broad network of elected officials across the country.

Le Pen stepped down as party president in 2021 to focus on the presidential race, handing the role to Jordan Bardella, now 30.

If she is ultimately prevented from running in 2027, Bardella is widely expected to be her successor. His popularity has surged, particularly among younger voters, though some within the party have questioned his leadership.

Le Pen's potential conviction would be “deeply worrying for (France's) democracy,” Bardella said Monday in a New Year address.

European Parliament lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve arrives to an appeal court for far-right leader Marine Le Pen's appeal trial for an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives for her appeal trial after an embezzlement conviction, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella speaks during his New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, is framed by Louis Aliot, left, and conservative lawmaker Eric Ciotti during National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)