14 DAY TRIAL // As critics can’t seem able to stop singing the praise of Gabourey Sidibe for her role in “Precious,” Howard Stern took to his radio show to point out that the industry is deliberately deceiving the newcomer actress by making her think she fits in. She doesn’t and, contrary to what Oprah Winfrey told her at the Academy Awards, she doesn’t have a career in Hollywood, as Examiner can also confirm.
The topic came up as Stern was discussing the nominees for Best Actress, where Gabby was also nominated, though “Precious” is her first film. Instead of lying to her and telling her she has a wonderful career ahead, the industry should tell Sidibe that she needs to take the money she has and invest it in a weight loss program because otherwise she will die soon, Stern says. A simple look around the other people at the Nokia Theater for the Oscars would have sufficed to show how she must look in order to continue working.
“There’s the most enormous, fat black chick I’ve ever seen. Everyone’s pretending she’s a part of show business and she’s never going to be in another movie,” Stern says at one point. Sidibe’s case is an ideal example for how people like to handle potentially sensitive issues like obesity. “Obesity in this country is out of control... What’s really sad though is that there are people who say it’s okay to be this heavy. You’ve got to love your body, you’ve got to embrace it,” Stern adds.
Throughout the rest of the discussion, Stern makes it a point of stressing that he’s not attacking the actress for her talent but for being morbidly obese, which is not ok. He does say, though, that he believes she did not deserve an Oscar. “The reason Sidibe didn’t win the award is that there wasn’t much acting except walking around in a catatonic state. She was more of a prop. She is in a deep crisis and she needs help badly. That’s all. It’s all very sad,” he says.
Moreover, Stern believes there’s little difference between Sidibe’s state and what his co-host and friend Artie Lange went through a while ago when he tried to kill himself, only that Gabby will be killing herself slowly, not at once. Below is part of the discussion, listen for yourselves and judge whether Stern makes a valid point or not. *Warning: Be advised that the recording contains some offensive language.