Gabourey Sidibe's social media followers know she has a voice like no other. Case in point: That time she crafted the perfect burn for trolls hating on her Golden Globes look in 2014."To people making mean comments about my GG pics," she tweeted, "I mos def cried about it on that private jet on my way to my dream job last night. #JK."
Good news for fans of the actress' wit, they can now revel in it sans restriction of 140 characters or less, thanks to her new memoir, This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)out today.
The cover of 'This Is Just My Face'(Photo: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
While the Empire star doesn't shy away from serious topics like being raised by an abusive, polygamist father, bulimia, and her weight loss surgery, her humorous tone that garners compulsive likes and retweets is still present.
Take the chapter in which she takes readers behind the scenes of a phone sex company. Yes, for a short time, Sidibe was what she calls a "talker."
"Honestly, I thought Id be walking into a dungeon with girls in ripped underwear chained to radiators who were moaning into receivers in phone booths,"she writes, imagining what the environment would be like. In actuality, Sidibe states the office seemed more like "an elementary school classroom" adorned with colorful banners and inspirational messages.
But Sidibe admits the job at times felt "demeaning." During the interview process, Sidibe says she was informed that she should portray herself as white, although she observed "the average talker" at the company was "a plus-size black woman." When detailing the different types of "talker" personas, she says "Ebony girl" was the least popular, adding, "It hurt my heart to cut my words and suck my teeth in an effort to sound more 'black' for the caller."
Before her two-month anniversary, she was promoted to receptionistand stayed at the company for three years.
Author: check.(Photo: Keenon Perry, Plethora Media Group)
Sidibe also infuses humor into a recount of her weight loss surgerywhich she failed to mention to her family or the Empire crew.
Prior to her procedure, she aimed to lose 10 pounds by working out and hiring a personal chef, which she acknowledges as "hella fancy."She still made sure to have a last-minute indulgence, as post-op she would have to stick to a liquid diet for three weeks.A few days before surgery she washed down Popeyes chicken, biscuits and fries with a Dr. Pepper and had her fill of champagne and tequila at a wedding.
Sidibe shares the scariest part of the whole ordeal was the thought of going back to work on the FOX series without having warned anyone about the laparoscopic bariatric operation or its impending results. Ultimately, she decided the inconvenience of my morphing body would be outweighed by the pride theyd feel for my handling my own (expletive) and getting healthy by any means necessary.
Even with that newfound confidence, she admits to feeling nervous on the morning of the procedure that no one in her family knew about. I was filled with butterflies, she writes, but kept imagining them being shot down with the surgeons lasers.
Sidibe also explains her decisionwas not fueled by vanity.
I did not get this surgery to be beautiful. I did it so that I can walk around comfortably in heels," she shares. "I want to do a cartwheel. I want to not be in pain every time I walk up a flight of stairs. I want to stop worrying about losing my toes.
We are all here for taking care of yourself.
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Gabourey Sidibe details weight loss surgery, being phone sex operator - USA TODAY
