Kristen Wiig has revealed that the notorious food poisoning sequence in the 2011 comedy Bridesmaids was not in the original script and was developed later, with the cast encouraged to improvise their characters' reactions.

In a new breakdown video for Vanity Fair, Wiig explained that the bridal shop meltdown, which follows a risky meal at a Brazilian restaurant, was added during the later stages of writing and then shaped on set as the actors found their own ways of playing sick while trying to stay composed.

She said the cast "made it our own," noting that the focus was on suggesting chaos and discomfort rather than relying on graphic shots of vomit, according to People.​

Wiig described filming the sequence as "so fun," emphasizing how each actress built a different version of a woman quietly battling intense food poisoning in a public place. She added that watching her co‑stars, including Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Ellie Kemper, commit fully to the physical comedy helped the scene come together.​

The final version shows the bridal party, led by Wiig's character Annie, suffering sudden illness while trying on gowns in an upscale boutique after eating bad meat, culminating in a character soiling herself in the street in a wedding dress.

Director Paul Feig and producer Judd Apatow had pushed for a big, physical set piece that would stand out, but Wiig had previously said they were strongly encouraged by others to include the messy bathroom humor so the women could behave as outrageously as male characters often do, The Independent reported.

Feig has also recalled that the basic dress shop setting was planned from early drafts, but was not originally centered on food poisoning. Over time, the creative team expanded the concept and shot even more extreme material, including a now-cut projectile vomiting gag in a pristine office, before deciding some moments went "too far" and scaling the scene back in the edit.

Despite Wiig's early reservations, the sequence has become one of the most remembered moments in Bridesmaids, frequently cited in discussions of how the film changed expectations for women-led studio comedies.

The movie earned Wiig and co-writer Annie Mumolo an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay and helped launch Melissa McCarthy to a best supporting actress nomination, cementing the film as a modern comedy landmark, as per NPR.

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Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live, Snl