Say What? Gabourey Sidibe Knows She's Fabulous

January 8, 2010

"People always ask me, 'You have so much confidence. Where did that come from?' It came from me. One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl."

— In a new interview with Harper's Bazaar, Precious star Gabourey Sidibe proves she's wise well beyond her 26 years. I say we all adopt her attitude.

Source: Getty

41 Comments

2 years 48 weeks

She is a huge porker of a woman. If by "beautiful" she means thoroughly unattractive, then yeah, she's beautiful.

3 years 15 weeks

Untreated obesity is an expensive epidemic that costs millions, if not billions, each year. Yes, sometimes it is due to health issues, but it must be looked at objectively and treated the same as cancer or alcoholism, or however is appropos for the cause. It is an illness, and it should be treated as the sad and tragic result as such. That said, i think that her personality shines with a light all it's own, and I hope she is able to set a good example for the millions of obese and impoverished people that look up to her by treating her illness in a responsible and healthy manner. I think she can be a great roll model for everyone!

cupcakers 3 years 18 weeks

I need that kind of attitude with myself

eastcoastgirl 3 years 18 weeks

True Beauty is being who we are and feeling good about it!! She is a true beauty,

3 years 18 weeks

I thinks she IS beautiful. True beauty in not only about what's on the outside, but also what's on the inside. I admire her and respect her for loving herself, for as Whitney said "Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all." There are a lot of people who are size 2, size 0 even, and they don't love themselves. That she loves herself inspite of society's definition of beauty is an amazing thing. And guess what? There are actually a lot of men who are attracted to plus-sized women!

Frenched 3 years 18 weeks

Being morbidly obese is obviously not exactly sexy or attractive, but a person can definitely be beautiful inside and out. I think it's great to have an attitude like Gabourey's as long as it is not used as an EXCUSE to not be healthy. People have the right to love themselves and consider themselves beautiful regardless of their size. Internal beauty certainly does radiate to the outside. Hopefully, she tries to become a little bit healthier. I do think she's sending out a great message, though.

sloane220 3 years 18 weeks

i agree with spacekatgal, i grew up gay as well and had to fight to love myself as i was even though societal mores worked to convince me that an essential part of my being was an abhorent and revolting thing. those same mores are working against gabby to try to tell her how she should feel about herself for being an overweight, dark-skinned, black woman. that's why, even though i think obesity is fundamentally unhealthy, if her definition of beauty includes her being obese, then it's okay. this is the way she looks now. is she supposed to hate her body and cower in a corner until the day she reaches a size four? what good would it do her self-image, self-perception, and confidence to hate her body as it is? if she can spread that message to other women, then i don't find anything wrong with it.

CiaoBella01 3 years 18 weeks

i find it really sad when people immediately attack her for being confident in herself and saying nonsense like "she can't say she's beautiful because she's obese". our perception of beauty has been heavily programmed to what society expects and what sells (sadly). you can't say it's inappropriate for her to say she herself is beautiful. spacekatgal, you're the perfect product of this twisted and weight-obsessed society. i saw her on regis and kelly a while ago and i thought she was so beautiful because of her personality. i wish more celebrities were like her where they're not afraid to show their true side and snort when they laugh lol

CiaoBella01 3 years 18 weeks

i find it really sad when people immediately attack her for being confident in herself and saying nonsense like "she can't say she's beautiful because she's obese".our perception of beauty has been heavily programmed to what society expects and what sells (sadly). you can't say it's inappropriate for her to say she herself is beautiful. spacekatgal, you're the perfect product of this twisted and weight-obsessed society. i saw her on regis and kelly a while ago and i thought she was so beautiful because of her personality. i wish more celebrities were like her where they're not afraid to show their true side and snort when they laugh lol

lwimbush 3 years 18 weeks

oh, i just love her. wasn't it marilyn monroe who said the prettiest people are the happiest people?

3 years 18 weeks

She is beautiful. She is just SO likeable and positive. People gravitate toward that kind of genuine charisma. She is also obese. I don't see what that has to do with her being beautiful. There is no one look, weight, or type that equals "beautiful."

staple salad 3 years 18 weeks

I think she's beautiful (physically and from the little I know about her, internally). I think beauty is subjective. Fat != ugly. I have a lot of friends who are obese and are very beautiful despite that, in fact, I'd say that they'd look incredibly weird if they were to lose a significant amount of weight (not just because I'm used to them being fat, but because they really do wear it well). And I think it's important for obese women to have a role model like her. I'm fat, but I'm not TOO fat. I'm about 100lbs overweight, I wear a size 18 pant. Most women who are potential role models are size 0-5 and seeing them plastered all over the media can be disheartening to overweight women. Having a role model like her can help overweight women accept ourselves as who we are. I know that whenever I see skinny girls I feel disheartened and end up eating stuff I shouldn't because I feel that there's no hope for me. Seeing an obese celebrity who's confident and fierce makes me think "I'm great the way I am and I can be totally fabulous as I am now! I can do this!" Obesity isn't healthy, however, our society has really the wrong outlook toward it. Other people with similarly unhealthy conditions are looked at with respect because of their strength with their condition, however, obese people are pretty much alway looked down upon and told to "GO TO THE GYM!" or "PUT DOWN THE FORK!" rather than people actually understanding WHY so many people are obese and not accepting that many times, the weight is outside the person's control.

staple salad 3 years 18 weeks

I think she's beautiful (physically and from the little I know about her, internally).I think beauty is subjective. Fat != ugly. I have a lot of friends who are obese and are very beautiful despite that, in fact, I'd say that they'd look incredibly weird if they were to lose a significant amount of weight (not just because I'm used to them being fat, but because they really do wear it well).And I think it's important for obese women to have a role model like her. I'm fat, but I'm not TOO fat. I'm about 100lbs overweight, I wear a size 18 pant. Most women who are potential role models are size 0-5 and seeing them plastered all over the media can be disheartening to overweight women.Having a role model like her can help overweight women accept ourselves as who we are. I know that whenever I see skinny girls I feel disheartened and end up eating stuff I shouldn't because I feel that there's no hope for me. Seeing an obese celebrity who's confident and fierce makes me think "I'm great the way I am and I can be totally fabulous as I am now! I can do this!"Obesity isn't healthy, however, our society has really the wrong outlook toward it. Other people with similarly unhealthy conditions are looked at with respect because of their strength with their condition, however, obese people are pretty much alway looked down upon and told to "GO TO THE GYM!" or "PUT DOWN THE FORK!" rather than people actually understanding WHY so many people are obese and not accepting that many times, the weight is outside the person's control.

3 years 18 weeks

She may not be healthy, but she certainly is beautiful. Beauty is not just a physical thing (and neither is health, actually:)

postmodernsleaze 3 years 18 weeks

HoneyBrown is right. Our definitions of beauty are basically social constructions that are narrow, limiting, and even dangerous. TRUE beauty is a little different.

HoneyBrown1976 3 years 18 weeks

I love her. Beauty is objective. It's not created by anyone else. If you live your life according to the standards of others, often deluded, than you are crazy, pure and simple.

HoneyBrown1976 3 years 18 weeks

I love her.Beauty is objective. It's not created by anyone else. If you live your life according to the standards of others, often deluded, than you are crazy, pure and simple.

soapbox 3 years 18 weeks

She's one of the few women that I look up to. Like what hypnotic said, she's just beautiful in her own wonderful way.

Pistil 3 years 18 weeks

I think her physical appearance is beside the point. Her attitude is admirable. One day I'd like to be able to say the same for myself.

runningesq 3 years 18 weeks

beautifully said, hypnotic ! I saw an interview with her and Jay Leno and she was just so... sparkly, bubbly, happy.

hypnoticmix 3 years 18 weeks

In the interview I watched with her she said she just got tired of trying to look like smaller girls because it just brought her down. I think it's safe to say that she feel holistically beautiful. As for the obesity issue in the long run it's simply not healthy but having said that I think we need stay any judgment because we don't know what her circumstance is. She could be genetically prone to it or perhaps there is a dietary issue such as a gluten allergy and yes it could be that girl just can't put down a fork but the fact of the matter is we don't know what it is. I also think she's beautiful. I can see some one not thinking she's sexy but that's something different all together. IMO if you can't see this woman's beauty beaming where ever she goes you're missing something.

hypnoticmix 3 years 18 weeks