misogyny

Gabourey Sidibe: ‘Don’t Congratulate Me’ for Losing Weight

Gabourey Sidibe promoting her memoir. Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

As with many ludicrous double standards in Hollywood — and in society as a whole — actresses’ careers are consistently plagued by conversations concerning their bodies, whereas their male counterparts rarely face such scrutiny. While discussing her memoir This Is My Face on Robin Roberts’s podcast “Everybody’s Got Something” this week, Academy Award–nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe addressed the latent sexism in comments made concerning her weight. The actress went on to say that even if it’s coming from a good place “you don’t need to congratulate me on [my weight loss]. You don’t congratulate me every time I blow my nose, I needed to … It’s in my body.”

Pointing to moments in her own career where she’s suffered from ridicule, the actress noted one instance from Empire:

“There’s all these think pieces on me. I did a sex scene on Empire which is part of my job. What it spawned is actually kind of insane. There were think pieces, there were memes, there was a hashtag because I guess they don’t think that fat people love or get love or deserve love.”

Sidibe also commented on the societal perception of women’s bodies, calling the scrutiny that women face “misogynistic.” “People want to feel like they have some sort of ownership over your body, even though you’re a stranger,” the actress added. “And it’s even worse when you’re recognizable like me.”

Gabourey Sidibe: ‘Don’t Congratulate Me’ for Losing Weight