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Posts tagged as “Gabourey Sidibe”

Jussie Smollett to Host 8th Season of "AfroPop" Television Series Premiering on MLK Day

 Jussie Smollett will host the eighth season of the public television show AfroPoP: The Ultimate Exchange. The star of the hit FOX TV show Empire will emcee the popular show about contemporary art, life and culture across the African Diaspora as it premieres on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 18, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on WORLD Channel.

New episodes premiere weekly through February 15. AfroPoP is produced by National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) and co-presented by American Public Television (APT), which distributes the series to the full public television system in February 2016.

Smollett will also be seen in the new WGN thriller Underground in 2016. The acclaimed entertainer is also involved in numerous humanitarian pursuits, sitting on the boards of the Black AIDS Institute, Artists for a New South Africa and the RuJohn Foundation. 

Previous hosts of AfroPoP include Idris Elba, Anika Noni Rose, Wyatt Cenac, Gabourey Sidibe, Anthony Mackie and Yaya DaCosta.

AfroPoP’s engaging, real-life tales add to the collection of rich Black stories that audiences are clamoring for and I wanted to be a part of bringing them to national attention,” said Smollett.

"Empire" Star Taraji P. Henson Reigns as "Saturday Night Live" Host on April 11

Taraji P. Henson as "Cookie" in FOX's 'Empire'
Taraji P. Henson as “Cookie” in FOX’s ‘Empire’

According to usatoday.com, “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson will make her “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut on April 11, 2015.  On that day, Henson will join the short list of black women who have taken the SNL reins:  Cicely TysonKerry Washington, Queen Latifah, “Empire” castmate Gabourey Sidibe, Janet Jackson, Halle Berry and Oprah Winfrey, to name the few.
Mumford & Sons will be the show’s musical guest – their second time.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
 

Patti LaBelle joins Angela Bassett and Gabourey Sidibe for "American Horror Story"

Patti LaBelle, Angela Bassett, Gabourey Sidibe
Music legend Patti LaBelle is joining the cast of FX’s critically acclaimed series, American Horror Story. LaBelle joins existing cast members Angela Bassett, Gabourey Sidibe, Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates for American Horror Story Season 4, which will focus on the last American freak show and will be set in Jupiter, Florida, in the 1950’s.
LaBelle will play Sidibe’s mother, a local townie, who begins to unravel the deadly secrets of Twisty the clown killer.
LaBelle is the second music icon to appear on the series. Stevie Nicks guest starred as herself and appeared on two episodes on Coven, the third installment of American Horror Story.
American Horror Story: Freak Show debuts in October on FX.
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article by Chris Witherspoon via thegrio.com

Lee Daniels’ Hip-Hop Drama ‘Empire’ Gets Series Order at Fox

empire-lee-daniels-danny-strong
According to Variety.com, “Empire,” the drama project from Lee Daniels and Danny Strong set in the world of hip-hop, has been picked up as a new series at Fox.
The family drama from Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV stars Terrence Howard as industry heavyweight Lucious Lyon, a tough but wise patriarchal figure. The cast also includes Taraji P. Henson, Gabourey Sidibe, Trai Byers, Kaitlin Doubleday, Grace Gealey, Bryshere ‘Yazz the Greatest’ Gray, Jussie Smollett and Malik Yoba.
The project reteams “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”‘s Daniels and Strong, who co-wrote this pilot with Daniels directing. Grammy Award-winning Tim “Timbaland” Mosley wrote the music for the pilot — marking the first time Mosley has worked so closely on a drama pilot. Executive producers are Brian Grazer, Daniels, Strong and Francie Calfo.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Gabourey Sidibe's Speech On Confidence Is Incredibly Moving

GABOUREY SIDIBE CONFIDENT
We’re just going to say it: Gabourey Sidibe is awesome.
She’s made to put up with a lot, but she doesn’t let the haters get her down. Not anymore.
Once again, the 30-year-old actress proved why she’s one of the strongest women in Hollywood with a powerful and moving speech about confidence at the Gloria Awards and Gala in New York City on May 1.
Sidibe opened by declaring that she loathes questions about the source of her confidence.
“I hate that,” Sidibe told the crowd. “I always wonder if that’s the first thing they ask Rihanna when they meet her. ‘RiRi! How are you so confident?’ Nope. No. No. But me? They ask me with that same incredulous disbelief every single time. ‘You seem so confident! How is that?'”
After telling a story about the cruelty of children and the importance of thinking highly of yourself, she circled back:

“Gabourey, how are you so confident?” It’s not easy. It’s hard to get dressed up for award shows and red carpets when I know I will be made fun of because of my weight. There’s always a big chance if I wear purple, I will be compared to Barney. If I wear white, a frozen turkey. And if I wear red, that picture of Kool-Aid that says, “Oh, yeah!” Twitter will blow up with nasty comments about how the recent earthquake was caused by me running to a hot dog cart or something. And “Diet or Die?” [She gives the finger to that] This is what I deal with every time I put on a dress. This is what I deal with every time someone takes a picture of me. Sometimes when I’m being interviewed by a fashion reporter, I can see it in her eyes, “How is she getting away with this? Why is she so confident? How does she deal with that body? Oh my God, I’m going to catch fat!”

The former “American Horror Story” star went on to say that every day she went to school, people made fun of her, and that she had to go home to a place where everyone made fun of her as well. But when she moved in with her aunt, Dorothy Pitman Hughes, whom she described as a “feminist, an activist, and a lifelong friend of Gloria Steinem,” a portrait of her aunt and Steinem together gave her hope and strength.
The actress closed out her speech returning again to the question of confidence — something she hopefully won’t have to address again.

“How are you so confident?” “I’m an asshole!” Okay? It’s my good time, and my good life, despite what you think of me. I live my life, because I dare. I dare to show up when everyone else might hide their faces and hide their bodies in shame. I show up because I’m an asshole, and I want to have a good time. And my mother and my father love me. They wanted the best life for me, and they didn’t know how to verbalize it. And I get it. I really do. They were better parents to me than they had themselves. I’m grateful to them, and to my fifth grade class, because if they hadn’t made me cry, I wouldn’t be able to cry on cue now. [Dabs tears] If I hadn’t been told I was garbage, I wouldn’t have learned how to show people I’m talented. And if everyone had always laughed at my jokes, I wouldn’t have figured out how to be so funny. If they hadn’t told me I was ugly, I never would have searched for my beauty. And if they hadn’t tried to break me down, I wouldn’t know that I’m unbreakable. [Dabs tears] So when you ask me how I’m so confident, I know what you’re really asking me: how could someone like me be confident? Go ask Rihanna, asshole!”

To read Sidibe’s entire speech, head over to Vulture.
article by Stephanie Marcus via huffingtonpost.com

Gabourey Sidibe to Join Cast of FX's ‘American Horror Story’ in Season 3

Actress Gabourey Sidibe attends Good Shepherd Services Spring Party hosted by Isaac Mizrahi at DIA 545 on April 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Good Shepherd Services)
Actress Gabourey Sidibe attends Good Shepherd Services Spring Party hosted by Isaac Mizrahi at DIA 545 on April 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Good Shepherd Services)

Ryan Murphy, American Horror Story co-creator, took to his Twitter account to announce that Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe will be joining the cast of season 3.  “Thrilled to announce Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe is joining the cast of “American Horror Story: Coven,” Murphy tweeted.  The Precious actress will join a cast that already includes: Taissa Farmiga, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Lily Rabe.  The FX hit’s third season is set to premiere this fall.
article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com