Gabourey Sidibe: Don't congratulate me on losing weight and 'mind your own body'
— -- Academy Award-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe is opening up about one of her pet peeves: when people congratulate her on her recent weight loss.
"We tell women what they need to look like, and what they don't need to look like," Sidibe told ABC News' Robin Roberts during an interview for her season 2 of her podcast "Everybody's Got Something." adding that "it's so misogynistic."
"There are plenty of like fat guys or whatever," Sidibe said. "And no one has ever written think pieces about why they need to lose weight. No one's ever going to accuse them while they were, you know, on a show promoting their film, that they're actually promoting an unhealthy diet."
"Mind your own body," the 34-year-old actress who skyrocketed to fame after the 2009 film "Precious," exclaimed. Sidibe starred opposite Mo'Nique, who took home the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role as Mary, the abusive mom to Sidibe's character, Precious.
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Sidibe called it "the weirdest thing in the world" when people will congratulate her on losing weight.
"You don't need to congratulate me on it," Sidibe said. "You don't congratulate me every time I blow my nose, I needed to ... it's in my body.
"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."
The actress said she understands "that people are coming from a good place and they're happy for me," even when the congratulation wishes don't always feel like compliments.
The Harlem native is now an author with a witty debut memoir, "This is Just My Face." She spoke candidly about her rapid rise to fame, telling Roberts that she used to stress about how she would afford a dress to wear to the premieres of films she was in.
Catch the full interview with the critically acclaimed actress on the season 2 premiere of "Everybody's Got Something," which is available for download and streaming today. Future episodes include candid and inspiring interviews with everyone from music icon and cookbook author Patti LaBelle, to singer Lea Michele, author Andy Andrews, Grammy award-winning singer Mandisa, and more.
