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Gabourey Sidibe: Joan Cusack told me to quit acting

Joan Cusack told Gabourey Sidibe to quit acting as Hollywood was too ‘image-conscious’

Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe was told by Joan Cusack to “quit the business” because of her looks.

Gabourey Sidibe's stand-out role as the abused and obese character of the film’s title in 2009’s ‘Precious’ earned her numerous awards and nominations, but it was before this success that she first met her idol Joan Cusack at an industry party.


Speaking on Bravo TV show ‘Watch What Happens Live’, Sibide said: "What celebrity was I disappointed by? Oh, and it's not in a mean way, because I know that she meant well. I met Joan Cusack, who is my favourite favourite – I love her – but, it was before I became [famous] or whatever.

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“She [said], 'Are you an actress?' And I said, 'Yeah!' And she says, 'Oh honey, you should really quit the business, it's so image-conscious.’”

In 2010 Sidibe’s mother Alice Tan Ridley defended her daughter’s weight, saying to RadarOnline: “The truth is Gabourey would like to lose some weight but the reality is that she would not have gotten the role of Precious if she had not been heavy.”

Sidibe starred alongside Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy in last year’s ‘Tower Heist’ and is currently a regular on American TV show ‘The Big C’.