Gabourey Sidibe Reveals Everyone Is Pronouncing Her Name Wrong
- - Gabourey Sidibe Reveals Everyone Is Pronouncing Her Name Wrong
Shyla WatsonFebruary 6, 2026 at 6:37 AM
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Gabourey Sidibe
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Gabourey Sidibe is setting the record straight about how the public is pronouncing her name.
In a new interview with ET, the Precious star revealed that everyone has been saying her name incorrectly.
"Can we myth-bust for one second?" reporter Nischelle Turner asks. "Is it 'Sidi-bay' or 'Sid-uh-bay'?"
The 42-year-old laughs, before clarifying, "It's actually 'Si-dee-bay.' "
"It's Senegalese and it's got accents that I don't use, but I usually say 'Sid-uh-bay' because Americans need things to rhyme, so I say it's 'Sidi-bay' like city by the bay," the American Horror Story actress explains.
"Also, for the record," she continues, "My name is also not 'Gab-uh-ray', if that matters."
Laughing again, she adds, "Again, Americans like for things to rhyme, so I say my name is 'Gab-uh-ray' like cabaret, but it's actually 'Gah-boo-ray.' "
"I would rather be called Gabby... some name, some nickname, or even 'Gab-uh-ray,' some name that I decide is good enough, rather than it being completely butchered."
Gabourey Sidibe
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During the Tuesday, Feb. 3 interview, the Empire actress also discussed how she landed her recent directorial debut, Mary J. Blige Presents: Be Happy.
"I starred in a Lifetime movie last year," the mom of two said of 2025's Give Me Back My Daughter. "I enjoyed working with Lifetime, they enjoyed working with me and they said, 'We believe in you here.' "
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The film — starring Tisha Campbell, Mekhi Phifer and Russell Hornsby — follows Val (Campbell), a 50-year-old wife and stay-at-home mom who wants to rediscover the spark with her husband and reclaim her identity.
An official synopsis for the movie adds, "A spontaneous escape to New Orleans to support her pregnant daughter, Kayla (Zing Ashford), awakens long-buried dreams and passions and introduces her to Peter Mosley (Phifer), a handsome and charismatic photographer who sees her in ways she has forgotten to see herself. Reawakening her artistic spirit and rediscovering her worth, Val must face a life-altering question: Is it ever too late to choose yourself and the love you truly deserve?"
Mary J. Blige Presents: Be Happy premieres Saturday, Feb. 7, on Lifetime at 8 p.m. ET.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
