Gabourey Sidibe won’t stand for any criticism about her body.
The actress is a guest on the latest episode of Janet Mock’s podcast “Never Before” where she calls out people who masquerade body shaming as concern for her health.
“People pretend that they care about my health by calling me a fat disgusting b—-,” Sidibe, 34, says. “You do not care about my health. You are just a giant a—–. And you think that you can have an opinion about me — but this is my body. I’m not out here in these streets writing think pieces about how your d— is too small.”
The actress also discusses how she’s been stereotyped after her Oscar-nominated breakthrough role in Precious. Sidibe says that film executives constantly look to cast her in similar parts because that’s how she’s known — and now she wants to avoid being stereotyped.
“All they know of me is what they saw. All they know of me is Precious,” she says. “As a woman and as a black person, you know that what they see of us and what we actually are is very different. They’ll see an example. They’ll see a cartoon of us and assume that that’s all of us.”
Sidibe, who admitted to PEOPLE she has struggled with her appearance since the age of 6, underwent laproscopic bariatric surgery last year after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes because she “didn’t want to worry about all the effects that go along with” it. Still, the actress has consistently fought back against people who tear her down for her weight — and is finally in a place where she loves who she is.
“There’s nothing ugly about me,” she says. “I was in a war with my body for a long time. If I’d started treating it better sooner, I wouldn’t have spent so many years hating myself. But I love my body now.”
Sidibe is the latest in a lineup of strong women to appear on Mock’s podcast, which is part of Lena Dunham‘s LENNY. With the Girls actress as executive producer, Mock has also sat down with Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Beyoncé’s mom Tina Knowles-Lawson.
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