One of the things I love each year during award season is seeing how new actors and actresses handle their sudden fame. There is always someone who gets noticed for the first time and suddenly becomes a celebrity. How they deal with their first time under the spotlight shows me a lot about how they will be in the future and also gives me something to look at in the future should they change. Gabourey Sidibe is new to the world of the spotlight. Access Hollywood asked her some loaded questions in an interview about her exclusion from the cover of the recent issue of Vanity Fair with young actresses on the cover. Instead of taking their bait, she took the high road. You know she is pissed inside about being excluded and she should be. But, instead of trashing the magazine she said, “At first I thought, ‘Hmm, should I be there? Then I very quickly got over it. I think if I were a part of that shoot I would have felt a little left out anyway.”
It sucks that she would feel left out. She definitely deserved to be on the cover. But, being the very nice person she is, she said, "I would have felt a little like… whether or not I should have been there. [It] doesn’t matter, because I wasn’t on it and I’m excited to be mentioned anywhere, and it doesn’t matter to me where I’m not mentioned.”
I wish all celebrities were as gracious as Gabourey.
She realy appears to be a good person - I hope Hollywood doesn't change that.
ReplyDeleteI love watching her in interviews. She's real. And her giggle makes me laugh.
ReplyDeleteWhere was Zoe Saldana on that cover? Oh wait, she wasn't.
ReplyDeleteI saw her on Leno & was really really impressed with her fun outgoing nature. She's a really cute girl & I hope she stays in the movies for years to come!!
ReplyDelete"She should be pissed"
ReplyDeleteReally? What has she done to deserve the VF cover? One movie does not make her a star. Time will tell how diverse & talented she really is.
I'm tired of the political correctness. She is morbidly obese & *extremely* uncomfortable to look at. She is a character actor, at best.
I'm not sorry if that offends you. I'm a fat chic too, but expecting this otherwise talented girl to be accepted into Hollywood is delusional & dishonest.
I am not going to touch that one above me. I am just going to go about my commenting business and say that I like her and I hope to see more of her.
ReplyDeletemygeorgia - I believe that the Vanity Fair cover was for up and coming actresses rather than established ones. I think that might be why some might consider it a slight.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but even as skinny & whitewashed as those actresses are, they all have more than one credit under their belt.
ReplyDeleteAnyone can be nice to look at. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - corny, yeah, but im a glass is half full kind of person.
ReplyDeleteI alos really like her, she seems to have a great spirit and I hope that as long as she's in good health she doesn't give in to skinny-obsessed Hollywood. But of course that means she'll be a character actress. Maybe that's good enough for her! I can see why some people think she should have been on that cover - she may have only been in one movie, but what a role it was, and what a movie!
ReplyDeleteI love how Hollywood always skirts around the "elephant in the room". While the press has really been mostly gracious to this talented young, woman, I always feel a sense of uncomfortableness when she is interviewed. I am overweight, so I understand that feeling. I admire her and her lovely personality.
ReplyDeleteI'm the child of a mixed race marriage (well, the child of a child of a mixed race marriage) and I didn't even notice that there wasn't a person "of color" on the V-Fair cover and I subscribe to the frickin' mag.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even being sarcastic here, but I think the cover was about pretty white girls who act. That is all.
Oh, and I'd like to take the opportunity to add that I've never cared for Annie Leibovitz and her utterly commercial, pedestrian, artsy-fartsy photos. She might as well be photographing celebs in flower pots like that other schmaltzy photog does with babies. BLEH.
While I love VF and most of Annie's photos, I detested that too-white white girls' cover. Same with the ugly, mean, and sweaty Tiger. I love Annie's Disney pictures. That was Annie, right? Anyhoo...
ReplyDeleteFat, skinny, black or white, I jjust felt sad when I read her quote about being left out anyway.
she's inside that issue of VF with mo'nique and lee daniels. it's a 2 page photo and little blurb about the movie so she really didn't get left out.
ReplyDeleteThe girl may be sweet and a good actress but lets be honest. She is not attractive, especially by Hollywood and entertainment standards see music industry and how looks have trumped talent for a few decades now).
ReplyDeleteShe is flash in the pan. In two years we will all be going "who? Oh! That girl from that Precious movie"
Of course to be fair that will probably happen to most of the woman on that cover too but more due to bad choices leading to opportunities drying up rather then lack of Hollywood looks leading to lack of opportunities.
Hopefully I am wrong but doubt it. In the meantime though she is showing maturity and foresight that most in Hollywood lack by not letting her ego drive her and that will be critical to any chance she has of maintaining a long term Hollywood career.
I'm white, and when I got my copy of VF in the mail I just shook my head. Give me a fucking break. What is this, 1960? Seriously? There is not one, not ONE appropriate woman of color?
ReplyDeleteEach actress was more insipid, more just-what-you'd-expect-from-shallow-Americans than the next. The actress equivalent of a McMansion and an SUV. Snore.
Stop here for a moment; why does a a woman have to fit the traditional mold of "attractiveness" to be a good/great actress? Is the article about "young actresses with hot thin bodies" or "up and coming talent"?
I would very, VERY much like to see more diversity, in every sense, in movies. I want to watch actors who look like me and the people I see every day on the subway.
That's why I just don't even see mainstream American movies anymore. Only independent American or foreign movies.
MsGeorgie:
ReplyDeleteI think Hattie McDaniels, Whoopi Goldberg and a host of others might take a dim view of your opinion. Gabby may be uncomfortable for YOU to look at, but there are plenty of people in the world who look at her and see a lovely person, inside and out. And Ms. McDaniels and Ms. Goldberg (BOTH OSCAR WINNERS, btw) were seen as unconventional in terms of looks and they did not allow Hollywood's narrow view of "acceptable" halt their progress.
And yes, that cover was lily white and offensive. There are upcoming actresses of various ethnicities and this cover does not reflect the world of entertainment, let alone the USA. If Carey Mulligan should be there, then so should Gabby. And so should Frieda Pinto. And so should Kerry Washington. And so America Ferrera. You get the point.
i think everyone's getting their feathers ruffled over nothing, quite frankly. VF is a magazine....a business. they sell more issues with pretty girls on the cover. end of story.
ReplyDeletejeesssh.
Ayesha: you have not named one single morbidly OBESE woman. That is my point, not color.
ReplyDeletei'm in no way intending to disparage anyone's responses to the cover b/c i totally get it. however, the magazine cover, like nancer said above, need to sell the issue. considering the audience is a key component in deciding what stays and what goes on the cover. it's a business. it's not pandering. unfortunately, life aint fair.
ReplyDeleteIf there were other actresses on that cover that had only one acting credit to their name, then I could see the beef but there wasn't. She didn't get left out. She didn't earn a spot. Zoe Saldana would have a right to be annoyed if they asked her if you are saying that black actresses were being left out. As for heavy actresses, I'm not aware of any that are really coming up right now. If someone wants to point some out, by all means, please do.
ReplyDeleteI'm going by memory here but most of the chicks on that cover have been working for awhile now but are just on the edge of breaking through to the big leagues. I always thought that was the theme of that issue each year. Are minorities under represented? Yup, they are. Every year. Fat chicks too. They are under represented every day in Hollywood too. But in this case? Come on now. Slow news day I guess for this kind of shit stirring to make news.
yadda yadda, where are my blinds? Two days in a row. Enty, I thought we were tight.
ReplyDeleteAll White Girls on that VF cover. ANd I am A white Girl from a fly over state. Who gets Vanity Fair evey month.
ReplyDeleteYawn.
HollyWood. Wake up. No wonder you are losing money.
Jebus Chrips on a Bike.
Love her. She is witty, charming and totally adorable. My whole family loves her and is rooting for her.
ReplyDeleteI would love to sit down with her for a chat-she reminds me of my daughters.
I hope they dont make Gabby lose weight like J. hud and America Ferrera. so far kelly clarkson is the only one holding her ground on her curves.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that this is the only way VF can get people to buy the magazine.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree that because magazines have never included morbidly obese women on their covers before, that it cannot be done now.
I'm not saying we should glorify obesity; I am saying that we should not filter out the obese when they are otherwise relevant.
Whether it's Gabourey or another, more experienced actress (America Ferrara as another noted), there are many, many women of color who qualified.
MsGeorgie:
ReplyDeleteI think Hattie McDaniels, Whoopi Goldberg and a host of others might take a dim view of your opinion. -----
I get what you are trying to say.
But lets be for real...what other roles have hattie played besides being the maid to some rich white lady or the nice fat countrified grandmother.
Her roles haven't been so diverse nor was she ever seen as a sex symbol.
I give you whoopie goldberg she has had some diverse role...but very few roles.
Never once was she ever seen as the attractive one... and maybe only twice have see headlined a film.
If you are black and you don't look like Halle Berry or Gabrielle Union...you won't make it far in hollywood and even those actresses don't get so many roles....granted the ones that they do choose tend to suck.
Also...Gabby is ugly as sin....I know everyone wants to point out how you don't have to be skinny or blonde to be attractive but seriously girlfriend is ugly...Queen latifah, Kim kardashian, Alicia keys, Nicki Minag, Beyonce, America Ferrari, the red headed chick from mad men, Salma Hayek, and Vida guerrea...are all woman who are not size zeros and yet fairly attractive.
I would add Serena/ venus williams but looking like dudes in drag is not attractive.
First of all-she's not ugly as sin. That's awful to say. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteSecondly-what is SADDER is that we have this debate about women all the time and never men. Men can be "not traditionally attractive" or heavy set and still not fall under the scrutiny of these women. It would've been nice if the VF issue kind of opened up the field a bit-but this girl did NOT ask the interviewer "why wasn't I included" it was asked of HER and she responded gracefully, so why not give her credit.
And finally-I do not care if you don't like looking at morbidly obese people. Boo hoo your eyes are offended. Get over it-I've heard the same thing said of cancer patients or others with disabilities, but the reality of life is that they are people and deserve to be treated with respect. For her health, and only her health, I would hope she loses some weight, NOT to no longer be offensive to those who write on internet blogs and behind the shadow of a moniker claiming to be "just telling it like it is".
Wow. Some nasty, nasty people out there. Anonymity brings out the best in people.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Right on, Theresa :)
^Theresa-kick ass comment!Nicely said.
ReplyDeletePEOPLE CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE? I think we need to be talking about the REAL issue here which is WTF has been going on with Enty the past couple of days. The blog is not taking it's usual form and it has me concerned.
ReplyDeleteJebus Chrips on a Bike.
ReplyDeleteNever heard that one before. That made me laugh...
No random photos or blind for two days in a row??
ReplyDeleteHope everything is OK with Enty.
@Jayme~
ReplyDeleteI'm so worried, I've had to start drinking.....
who gets VF every month? i do. i've subscribed to it for 15 years.
ReplyDeleteThese are for young actresses, but they have done more than 1 movie, all of them. They have shown that they will continue to do movies. Sidibe hasn't really shown that yet. I was thinking by next year, she will be solidified because she will win the OSCAR, and will not be an up and comer. In other words, I think she will surpass all the Hos on the VF cover.
ReplyDeleteWow Enty isn't giving us random photos or blinds and the comments are taking on a very nasty and offensive tone.
ReplyDeleteIf this continues reading this blog won't be worth my time of day.
I miss the good of days of like, two years ago. :(
As Sunnyside pointed out, Zoe Saldana had one of the best performances of the year and is fucking drop-dead gorgeous. So the "they wanted pretty girls" argument doesn't quite work.
ReplyDeleteAs for Enty, he emailed me a few days ago and mentioned that he's been really busy lately, so hopefully this is a temporary slowdown. :)
ReplyDeleteShe is cute as a button in the interviews I have seen her. Only time will tell on what the rest of her career will be like.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Enty went to Mardi Gras and is still recovering?
personally, i think we are getting a little used to the regular postings from enty...i am also upset about no BIs/photos but relax, it is just a few days!!! we can live without it for a few no??
ReplyDeletepeople have lives/ emergencies/travel/bad internet...just do a Frankie Goes to H-wood and...
Wow, I think mygeorgie is the poster who posts anti-Muslim rants all the time when Enty allows us to post anonymously.
ReplyDeleteyay Theresa! f--k the rest of you awful bitches
ReplyDeleteIt just goes to show you that Hollywood and glam magazines tout being inclusive but liberals are truly racists. Leaving her out proves this yet again. The only group they won't discriminate against are Homosexuals because they run are a huge part of the industry.
ReplyDeletethat were saying mean awful things about a young person who is uber talented and represents a lot of what America looks like nowadays (scary but true). Your the reason all those actresses feel like they have to purge and coke their way into a size 0
ReplyDeleteway to help spin the wheel on hollywoods horrid trend of self obession with looks ppl
@ I.P.
ReplyDeletebleck!!!!
that is all
Ohhhhhh noooooo, given Enty's propensities, if he hit Mardi Gras, it will take him days to recover. Wonder what he will give up for Lent? Would bacon and/or liquor even be possible?
ReplyDeleteRe Ms. Sidibe: She seems to be a delightfully "real" person who delivered a knockout performance. I can only hope she gets whatever will make her happy.
Seriously, does anybody buy Vanity Fair these days? Those editors there would never put an obese woman on the cover. They should, but they wont.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why people who disagree with another person's opinion have to resort to misogynistic slurs to emphasize their disapproval?
ReplyDeleteDo they really think that it makes them look better than the one they're accusing of being intolerant and/or disrespectful?
Well, it doesn't!
I think that Gabourey would have looked misplaced on that specific cover with all those petite girls.
I also think that if she keeps on doing good movies she most likely will be on a VF cover too someday. Maybe with other women, maybe alone. I didn't read that she was never to appear on a VF cover ever. So why all the fuss? She's only at the beginning of her career; give her time.
And I also think that the way she reacted wasn't that spectacular. She is a newcomer with no influence in the industry so far. So why should she be anything but humble in interviews? She's not stupid!
just had to drop in to say yey theresa!
ReplyDeleteNewsweek featured Gabby, Sandra Bullock, Cathy Mulligan, Woody Harrelson, Jeff Bridges and Morgan Freeman in their annual Q&A for Oscar contenders. Great photos and great interview.
ReplyDeleteMuch more prestigious and timely than Vanity Fair's vapid cover shots of starlets, some I never heard of.
@jp: "Wow, I think mygeorgie is the poster who posts anti-Muslim rants all the time when Enty allows us to post anonymously."
ReplyDeleteThat is not only dangerously accusatory, but bloody cheap. Stating someone is (obviously) obese, does not make me a racist.
ftr, I always opt out of anon, even on the tough issues. And I usually get ripped a new one by the cowards using the anon option.
careful what you accuse people of.
They could have placed her on the cover and it would have looked good. They could have put her in the middle of all those little waifs, and she could be the only one who looked happy to be there. I do think she is gorgeous and very talented. I hate the term "morbidly obese". That sounds like "you're so fat you should be dead"...and the fact is, you can be very large and still have great health. Yes, being overweight CAN cause health problems, but it doesn't always - that is a myth created by the diet industry. Read "Health at every size" by Linda Bacon (enty's favourite author, I'm sure). And whoever called this young girl "ugly as sin" - go fuck yourself with a large cupcake. Asshole.
ReplyDeleteI think she's beautiful - she shines. Maybe if you find her unpleasant to look at, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself to see why that is.
ReplyDeleteWhat Theresa said. And I'm still trying to picture what Harriet said. A cupcake? Love it.
Speaking of modest celebs, here's Betty White on the campaign to get her to host 'SNL': "I'm just amazed. I would think by now that they've had such an overdose of Betty White that they'd be throwing rocks instead."
ReplyDeleteBetty, I for one can never get enough of you!
ENNNNTTYYYYYyyyyyyyy.....where are youuuuuuuuuuuuuu?????
ReplyDeleteevery time i see a picture or interview of this girl i get sad. because i think hollywood has used her and will discard her as soon as precious is off of everyone's mind.
ReplyDeletewhich is sad, because she seems genuine and down to earth. too bad those aren't qualities that get you anywhere in hollywood. :(
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Hun, that's exactly what it means. You are so fat that you are ruining your health and endangering your life."
ReplyDeleteOk, hun, let me clarify, hun. Hun, just because Gabourey Sidibe is the size she is, does not necessarily mean that she is close to death because of it, hun. I'm sure some fat people are, hun, but hun, not every fat person is the same. Hun.
I'm not 100% sure how close to death this girl is due to her weight, but it can't be good for the arteries, or knees.
ReplyDeleteOh Harriet, you are so WITTY!
ReplyDeleteThat said, this girl doesn't belong on the VF cover yet; she's done one movie, the other actresses who made the cover have actual acting resumes under their belts.
Love her...she will be just fine...good head on her shoulders and a sweet personality...refreshing if you ask me...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell said Theresa :)
ReplyDeleteAnd for the record, I don't find Gabourey "extremely uncomfortable to look at" - what the hell does that even mean?
I LOLed, Harriet :)
All these people who claim to be concerned for the health of fat* people crack me up. You don't give a shit about her health - you just don't want to see that big ol' body bouncing around. At least be honest about it.
ReplyDelete*Don't give me grief about using the word 'fat', either. Check out any of the Fat Acceptance web sites - they are reclaiming the word as their own.
"extremely uncomfortable to look at"
ReplyDeleteAs in "I gasp" when I see her in photos, the SAME way I do when i see an anorexic, the other end of the weight spectrum. Why is it so okay to discuss in great lengths how frighteningly skinny some women are, but not okay to discuss obesity? Do you same people stand up so fervently for the anorexics getting called out?
Like I've said, I'm a fat chic. No size 00 here pointing fingers, but I think if people are so damn afraid of calling someone 'obese', it says more about *their* secrets & paranoia, than mine.
Is it just me or is blahfrickinblah and mygeorgie the same person? The posts are written in the same voice, making the same points, and they both quote and responds to other posts the same.
ReplyDeleteI smell a troll.
Wow. This is a really polarizing discussion. Sometimes the human body is difficult to look at-"morbidly" fat/thin, burn victims, disfigurements, etc-it seems the most important thing is to see the person beneath.
ReplyDeleteI struggle at times too. Being in a wheelchair after 45 years of being strong and ambulatory has certainly changed my perspective on many things- outward appearances is one of them. For most of my life I had been one of the "pretty" girls-then my life took a dramatic turn that I never saw coming. I am not so pretty to look at anymore-balding, obese, skin problems, strange looking joints and a bunch of other stuff.
I understand now-I learned the hard way and I sincerely hope that my daughters (who are both physically beautiful) never learn to judge.
Looking deeper to find the true person is probably the hardest thing we can do as humans, but when we do it can be an uplifting and glorious thing.
(I have been reading some of the books by the Dali Lama and I am thankful for that learning experience. I have learned so much about learning to be more loving, compassionate and understanding-although I still struggle with my inner bitch)
@ Nina: Holy shit man, take the unpopular road and you get called a lot of things. Troll/Blah, I'm not.
ReplyDeleteJesus people, not everyone is going to agree with each other. Enjoy the differing opinions.