Why this fat black chick can’t stand Howard Stern
I can’t stand Howard Stern. I have NEVER intentionally listened to his radio show, and have been fortunate enough only to have caught bits and pieces in passing over the years. Based on that, and the snippets I’ve seen on other shows, I’m pretty certain that if he was on fire, I wouldn’t spit on him. I can’t stand Howard Stern.
I also know that his shtick revolves around being rude, crass and disrespectful – particularly toward women. This is America, he has every right to do it, and as Americans, we have the right to choose to consume it, no matter how vulgar and disgusting.
So, Stern and his sidechick, Robin Quivers, were within their rights when they decided to bless us with their opinion about Academy Award Nominated actress, Gabourey Sidibe. Here are a couple of things they said,
Stern: “There’s the most enormous, fat black chick I’ve ever seen. She is enormous. Everyone’s pretending she’s a part of show business and she’s never going to be in another movie. She should have gotten the Best Actress award because she’s never going to have another shot. What movie is she going to be in?”
Robin Quivers (Stern’s sidekick – who has her own weight issues): “And Oprah’s lying and saying ‘you’re going to have a brilliant career.’ ”
Stern: Oprah’s another liar, a filthy liar. She’s telling an enormous woman the size of a planet that she’s going to have a career.”
The fact is, Hollywood has not historically written roles for black women, and certainly not for obese black women. The fact is, Gabourey is obese. I’ve watched Gabourey in several interviews and something tells me she already knows all of this all too well. But you know what else is a fact, Sidibe already has made another film, “Yelling to the Sky,” which stars Zoe Kravitz and a new Showtime comedy series, “The C Word.” While Stern and Quivers were doing a great job reminding everyone what we already knew about Hollywood, Gabourey was proving them wrong.
As a woman who’s struggled with my weight my entire life, I know first-hand what it’s like to be dismissed simply because of the way I look. The irony of being the fattest, and sometimes only black person in the room is that to half of the room you’re invisible. They’ve already pigeon holed you into some undesirable category, deciding that you’re neither worth their time nor effort, and no amount of education, talent, skill and kindness on your part can make it not so. They even go as far as telling you you have no right to want or dream about the kinds of things they do.
I can’t stand Howard Stern and people like him because that’s what he tried (unsuccessfully) to do to Gabourey Sidibe. The reality of life in Hollywood will eventually meet Sidibe – but why take away her few minutes in the spotlight to shine? Why degrade her and try to make her feel stupid for wanting to reach for more, and be more than just an “enormous black chick?”
Stern is fortunate that white men – ugly, scrawny, fat, tasteless, hairy, hairless, untalented, vulgar – white men aren’t dismissed in the manner that women, black and white, so often are. His gain is our loss.
On an average day I couldn’t care less about what Howard Stern or Robin Quivers have to say about anything. What breaks my heart is that they are just two of many people standing in line, waiting to dismiss people’s talent, hopes and dreams, based solely on looks and personal appearance. For Stern’s sake I hope enormous black chicks aren’t the ones handing out the water he’ll need in hell. With any luck, they’ll all be too busy chasing their dreams and ignoring as****** like him.
Image Source: MSN
