“Plus yo my b**ch make your b**ch look like Precious.”
The Kanye West verse from “Mercy” has always been a bit disturbing because he isn’t referring to a computer animated graphic or an actor in makeup and a fat-suit, he’s referring to a real person. Although Precious was a character played by Gabourey Sidibe, if you haven’t noticed when it comes to looks, the two have a lot in common.
In an Insta/Twitter kind of world, Kanye’s comments were among the first in what we could only call a slander campaign in in reference to Sidibe’s appearance. Despite an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in Precious, and also phenomenal roles in movies like Yelling To The Sky and television roles in American Horror Story: Coven, much of the public chooses to still focus on her appearance rather than her acting skills.
Journalist Roland Martin caught up with Sidibe before the 45th NAACP Image Awards to ask how she deals with the criticism:
“I feel like they’re talking about me because I’m busy,” says Sidibe. “That stuff does hurt my feelings because I’m a human being. I’m not a weak, sensitive person. I’m merely a person…I have to tell myself sometimes, ‘These strangers are saying things about you but look around you. You are in your dream. You’re in everybody else’s dream. You’re living a really good life and you’re happy’.”
Not too long ago Sidibe lashed out against Twitter trolls who criticized her red carpet look at the Golden Globes. She says her response was a reminder to herself and the critics that harsh comments about her weight are the least of her concerns because when she looks around she is living her dream.
We think people should spend less time on the internet trying to assassinate someone’s appearance, and more time working on their own dream . In the meantime, we’re loving the way Sidibe handles the shade with class and a smile on her face. Sidibe recently debuted new movie White Bird in a Blizzard at Sundance. To hear the rest of her interview with Roland Martin and their “date” plans visit HelloBeautiful.com.
