# Is "Precious" star Gabourey Sidibe so obese she is in danger of early death? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2010, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214 "2010-03-12T07:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/41 "2010-03-13T00:58:35Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Can someone please link to Stern’s similar diatribes about John Goodman? Or Louie Anderson? or that Pinette comic? Thanks. If you’re trying to paint Stern as a hypocrite, good luck with that. He is absolutely not hypocritical. (And yes, he did comment on the unhealthy lifestyle of Candy and Anderson. I don’t know who Pinette is.) > [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Does Stern do this for other celebrities that smoke, do drugs, speed on the interstate, and so on? Sounds like a dick move to poke fun at her weight rather than genuine concern for this woman. Yep, he sure does. If you’re trying to imply that he’s singling her out, you’re wrong. Also, it’s worth noting that he wasn’t pissing all over Gab’s aspirations. He was lashing out at the Hollywood stars who were telling her she has a brilliant career ahead of her. > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Second, even if that were true, all that would prove is the paucity of roles available for people who don’t fit Hollywood’s dishonest view of what most people look like. That’s incredibly naive. Hollywood has no desire or pretense of presenting “what most people look like” in their movies. Where’d you ever get such a silly notion? Hollywood is in the business of presenting fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/42 "2010-03-13T01:08:18Z")
I’d say she’s at high risk for both hypertension and diabetes, both of which will not be kind to her body or her life. HTN and DM are rampant throughout the black community and it is not a pretty sight\*. I hope she does lose SOME weight, if only for her health. And Howard Stern is an asshole, but that’s MO. \*25 years as an RN working in the “black community” and seeing the damage. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/43 "2010-03-13T01:37:47Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Nevermind indeed. I just finished reading the thread and that wasn’t the most offensive post by a long shot. This kind of thread is invaluable for allowing the resident trogs to show their true stripes, to mix a metaphor. Now I have to go take a shower. It also allows the “I get easily offended on behalf of others” to show themselves. So thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/44 "2010-03-13T04:05:08Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > If you’re trying to paint Stern as a hypocrite, good luck with that. He is absolutely not hypocritical. (And yes, he did comment on the unhealthy lifestyle of Candy and Anderson. I don’t know who Pinette is.)Yep, he sure does. If you’re trying to imply that he’s singling her out, you’re wrong. I don’t listen to his “show,” but didn’t he have a struggle with depression? Does he discuss how his lifestyle was unhealthy? Listen, I’m a pretty svelte guy, but I am really tiring of the war on fat people in this country. They’re the new pariahs in this country. I think people feel better about themselves by denigrating fat people, as they’re so clearly unable to control themselves and exercise and have a better diet. But do the anti-fat crowd call out corporations that refuse to build supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods, and so on? Or a government that at one point, responsible for feeding low-income kids at school, categorized ketchup as a vegetable? Mocking fat people is the laziest form of recreational outrage there is, and I’m personally tired of it. A lot more of us, if not for the grace of good fortune (access to fresh and healthy food, recreational facilities, safe neighborhoods, good health care, etc.) might be obese too. Not to mention the rationale that fat people put themselves at greater risk through their actions. Yeah, well, I tend to speed on the highway and I get pissed off way too much over trivial stuff. I’m putting myself at greater risk, as are many of my fellow non-fat citizens. > [@](#): > > Also, it’s worth noting that he wasn’t pissing all over Gab’s aspirations. He was lashing out at the Hollywood stars who were telling her she has a brilliant career ahead of her.That’s incredibly naive. Hollywood has no desire or pretense of presenting “what most people look like” in their movies. Where’d you ever get such a silly notion? Hollywood is in the business of presenting fantasies. Well, there is certainly more than one way to make a living in the acting business. Look at Tyler Perry’s success. I’m fairly certain she knows she’s not going to be the next Julia Roberts, but there are expanding opportunities outside of the Memorial Day blockbuster genre. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/45 "2010-03-13T09:23:28Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I don’t listen to his “show,” but didn’t he have a struggle with depression? Does he discuss how his lifestyle was unhealthy? Maybe you shouldn’t criticize something you know nothing about. Yes, he constantly discusses his unhealthy lifestyle choices, both past and present. For the past ones he also discusses how he overcame them. (Smoking, eating himself obese, having OCD, etc…) He also discusses his 3-day-a-week therapy that he’s been doing for going on 10 years. He discusses all this ad nauseum, every week. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/46 "2010-03-13T12:27:23Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Maybe you shouldn’t criticize something you know nothing about. > > Yes, he constantly discusses his unhealthy lifestyle choices, both past and present. For the past ones he also discusses how he overcame them. (Smoking, eating himself obese, having OCD, etc…) He also discusses his 3-day-a-week therapy that he’s been doing for going on 10 years. He discusses all this ad nauseum, every week. Just like you could read an entire post and realize he just asked a couple questions and then went on to criticize something completely different. BTW, he sounds a lot different from when I used to occasionally watch his show on E!. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/47 "2010-03-13T13:02:58Z")
How is this question even being debated? Of course Gabourey Sidibe is morbidly obese. You can tell that just by looking at her. And can the faux outrage, this is not someone pointing at Kate Winslet or Kirstie Alley and complaining they’re not stick thin like a typical starlet. Sidibe is FAT. Health problems will naturally follow. And of course this will hurt her acting career. She’ll play one other type of role, that of the sassy overweight sidekick. She might do it in a few different films/TV shows, but she’s not getting another Precious-type serious drama unless someone writes it for her. Which I suppose is possible. But is by no means the key to a long career. ---
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/48 "2010-03-13T13:10:50Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Did they ever explain why he never got skinny on the island, BTW? It was Jacob’s gift. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/49 "2010-03-13T13:13:12Z")
Ellis Dee writes: \> That’s incredibly naive. Hollywood has no desire or pretense of \> presenting “what most people look like” in their movies. Where’d you ever get \> such a silly notion? Hollywood is in the business of presenting fantasies. You’re distorting what I said. What I said was: \> Second, even if that were true, all that would prove is the paucity of roles \> available for people who don’t fit Hollywood’s dishonest view of what most \> people look like. Where did I say that Hollywood wasn’t in the business of presenting fantasies? In fact, what I said was quite consistent with the notion that what Hollywood presents to us are fantasies. You call it presenting fantasies. I call it being dishonest. The point is that Hollywood films present an image of what average people look like that isn’t remotely average. The people in Hollywood films are wildly more beautiful and thinner than most people are. (Life as depicted in Hollywood films in dishonest in other ways too, but that’s a separate matter.) Please read my posts carefully before you comment on them. Why do you call admitting this “naive”? Are you saying that to object to Hollywood’s distorted view of life if wrong because we are obliged to accept their lies? There’s no way that I’m going to accept that. American TV and movies are full of lies. By accepting those lies we accept their dishonest view of reality. astro writes: \> On the audio clip “Go get yourself thin or you’re going to die” at the 50-60 \> second mark is not claiming she is in imminent danger of death? O.K., I missed that. That is one sentence in which he says that she is going to die from her weight. That is not the main point of Stern’s rant. Why did you make that the point of your OP? What Stern is talking about for nearly the entire clip is the fact that (according to Stern) she will never get another movie role. This, as I said, has already been proved false. Howard Stern is still a jerk. Has he ever once persuaded someone to change their lifestyle because of his rants? Stern criticizes people because he enjoys treating other people like garbage. It’s irrelevant if he is sometimes right in his criticisms. He doesn’t seem to be trying to get people to change. He merely wants someone that he can hate. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/50 "2010-03-13T13:28:30Z")
There was an article about some magazine doing a “size issue” with Sidibe on the cover. One of the lines mentioned that she was “very large for Hollywoood, at almost 250 pounds.” What? Am I nuts, or is there no way that girl is under 250? Is she three feet tall or something? ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/51 "2010-03-13T14:28:05Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Maybe you shouldn’t criticize something you know nothing about. While I am not a listener, it’s pretty difficult to avoid Stern saturation from the past decade. I did occasionally see his E! show and hear him on the radio. I know he likes to rail on peoples’ life choices quite a bit, though (especially porn stars). As **Wendell** notes, his schtick does nothing to help people. It just makes him feel better to go off on somebody. It’s pretty sophomoric, and even if there’s a kernel of truth in what he says, it’s delivered in such an unappealing way it has to be obvious that the object of his scorn isn’t going to do anything with it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/52 "2010-03-13T15:57:12Z")
Well, I’m not sure if this thread is really about the factual question, anymore, but I’ll give it a shot. Early death? Yes, I think she can not sustain that weight until 75. Imminent death? Well, I doubt it. I mean, she could live to 60 with that weight, I guess. I think the same thing about J[orge Garcia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hurleylost.PNG)whenever I watch Lost. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/53 "2010-03-13T16:39:06Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I think the same thing about J[orge Garcia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hurleylost.PNG)whenever I watch Lost. Yeah, but he’s spry, Dude! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/54 "2010-03-13T19:21:55Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > There was an article about some magazine doing a “size issue” with Sidibe on the cover. One of the lines mentioned that she was “very large for Hollywoood, at almost 250 pounds.” > What? > Am I nuts, or is there no way that girl is under 250? Is she three feet tall or something? They’re just guessing. She’s well into the mid 300’s. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/55 "2010-03-13T19:40:30Z")
She’s 5’5". My guess would be that she’s more like 250 pounds. I’ve done a lot of online searching and I can’t find a reliable source for her weight. Does anyone here know somebody who is very close to the same height and same build as Sidibe? This needs to be someone that you know well enough that you can get their true weight from. Please, please, please, no guessing. I suspect that most people don’t know anybody very similar to her well enough to produce a reasonable guess as to her weight. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/56 "2010-03-13T19:56:59Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > But with Monique, Oprah, Loretta Divine, Latifa, and the Pine Sol lady out there, it’s not like fat black women _can’t_ get work. Statistically they probably have a better shot at it than fat white women. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if her casting potential wasn’t higher as a fat woman than if she were of normal weight. What kind of roles, though? At that weight, I think she’ll be typecast into caricature-like roles; the sassy fat inner-city black woman. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/57 "2010-03-13T20:00:53Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > She’s 5’5". My guess would be that she’s more like 250 pounds. I’ve done a lot of online searching and I can’t find a reliable source for her weight. Does anyone here know somebody who is very close to the same height and same build as Sidibe? > **[Photographic Height/Weight Chart - 5' 5", 260 lbs., BMI:43](https://www.height-weight-chart.com/505-260.html)** As close as I could find on the Cockeyed height/weight chart. I’d say Sidibe is pushing 300, or, as Anglophile Dopers may prefer, “22 bloody stone.” ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/58 "2010-03-13T20:58:14Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > What kind of roles, though? At that weight, I think she’ll be typecast into caricature-like roles; the sassy fat inner-city black woman. Or she could play roles similar to fat black women we’ve all known in real life – college student, nurse, waitress, cook, teacher, lawyer, social worker, assembly line worker, bus driver, truck driver, etc. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/59 "2010-03-13T21:02:16Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > [Photographic Height/Weight Chart - 5' 5", 260 lbs., BMI:43](http://www.cockeyed.com/photos/bodies/505-260.shtml) > > As close as I could find on the Cockeyed height/weight chart. > > I’d say Sidibe is pushing 300, or, as Anglophile Dopers may prefer, “22 bloody stone.” [The director of the film had a slip of the tongue.](http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/03/01/2010-03-01_precious_star_gabourey_sidibe_gets_fattened_up_by_lee_daniels_at_naacp_awards_ce.html) ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214/60 "2010-03-13T21:15:35Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > There was an article about some magazine doing a “size issue” with Sidibe on the cover. One of the lines mentioned that she was “very large for Hollywoood, at almost 250 pounds.” > What? > Am I nuts, or is there no way that girl is under 250? Is she three feet tall or something? That reminds me of when Kirstie Alley started her ‘fat actress’ series, I read that she was ‘tipping the scales at almost 200 pounds’. Kirstie Alley is pretty tall - 5’8" or 5’9" as I recall, and there is no freaking way she weighed only 200 at her peak. I wish they wouldn’t do that - size issues are skewed enough in Hollywood without these kind of wildly wrong estimates. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-precious-star-gabourey-sidibe-so-obese-she-is-in-danger-of-early-death/532214.md?page=4)