Gabourey Sidibe describes her self as “f–king unbreakable.” And yet, she dreads red carpet events.
“It’s really hard to get dressed up for award shows when I know I’ll get made fun of because of my weight,” Sidibe, 34, explained at the 2018 MAKERS conference in Hollywood, California on Monday, February 5. “If I wear purple, somebody will call me Barney. If I wear white, a frozen turkey. If I wear red, a pitcher of Kool-Aid. These are actual tweets I’ve gotten.” (The Empire actress brilliantly shut down trolls who criticized her appearance at the 2014 Golden Globes by tweeting: “I mos def cried about it on that private jet on my way to my dream job last night. #JK.”)
Sidibe, a champion for loving yourself, went on to reveal that the No. 1 question she gets asked is: “Gabourey, how are you so confident?”
“I always wonder if that’s the first thing they ask Rihanna when they meet her. ‘‘Riri, how are you so confident?’ mused the American Horror Story alum. “Of course not. Everybody knows why Rihanna’s confident. She’s beautiful.”
“How am I so confident?” continued an emotional Sidibe. “It’s my good time and my good life despite what you think of me.”
Sidibe underwent weight-loss surgery in 2016 after she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, but feels uncomfortable when people praise her slimmer shape. “You don’t need to congratulate me on it,” she told Robin Roberts in June. “You don’t congratulate me every time I blow my nose. I need to. It’s my body. Mind your own body.”
Sidibe, who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the 2009 drama Precious, shared her real-life story at the MAKERS conference. MAKERS is a feminist media brand.
