By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — One lesson learned at the NAACP awards this past weekend: Don’t ever talk about a woman’s weight in your acceptance speech.
“Precious” director Lee Daniels is in hot water with star Gabourey Sidibe after he mentioned her weight in his acceptance speech at the NAACP awards, the Daily News reported.
“No one in Hollywood told me they wanted to see a movie about a 350-pound black girl who had HIV,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Sidibe grew visibly upset over the remark. Then Daniels quickly backtracked, the paper reported.
"She's not 350 pounds... Gabby...” Daniels said. “But the book says... "
Since bursting onto the scene as the star for the Oscar-nominated film, Sidibe has often been in the headlines for talking about her weight — or dealing with others talking about it.
In a November appearance on Oprah, she said she had struggled for years with her body image.
"It's something I've had to work at,” Sidibe told the talk show host. “My first diet started when I was six years old. I've never been a small girl. One day I had to sit down with myself and decide that I loved myself no matter what my body looked like and what other people thought about my body."
Sidibe received an NAACP award for best leading role in a movie.
