STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Gabourey Sidibe Explains Why She's Scared for Her Life

Many of us can relate to this.

In light of the recent injustices plaguing the nation with the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, several celebrities have come forward sharing their condolences or their own personal experiences with racism. Empire actress Gabourey Sidibe is doing the latter, telling People it's a daily struggle for her.

"As a Black actress, I have a few social media accounts and every single day I deal with racist comments," she said. "Not a day goes by that I don't have to block someone for calling me a fat n***a. So, I have to say, I'm not surprised by some of those bad reactions [to what happened last week]."

The 33-year-old said when she directly addressed the recent cases of police brutality on social media, she received some major backlash.

"I tweeted something about it and I just said, 'Who's going to be next?' And I said, 'I'm scared,'" she remembered. "And the amount of hate I got... I mean, I once tweeted that I was watching Roots, and I can't tell you how many people I had to block."

The actress says the reactions she received only solidifies in her mind that there is so much work to do: "There is a long, long way to go and it breaks my heart," she said. "I'm scared. I'm not just scared for myself. I'm scared for my family, I'm scared for everyone." 

See how Gabourey Sidibe made her directorial debut in the BET Breaks video, above.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.