Oscar Nominee Gabourey Sidibe Was ‘Not Allowed to be Black’ While Working as a Phone-Sex Operator Before Precious

The actress discusses her experiences as a Black woman in Hollywood in the new Apple TV+ documentary ‘Number One on the Call Sheet’

Gabourey Sidibe didn’t win best actress when she was nominated for the 2008 film Precious, but if Academy Awards were handed out for most on-point performance in a documentary, it would be hers to lose next year.

In the new two-episode Apple TV+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet, Sidibe gives a vocal impersonation of a phone-sex operator named Melody that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. The moment comes in episode 2, “Black Leading Women in Hollywood,” while Sidibe is discussing the difficulties she faced in a Hollywood that gives preferential treatment to White beauty standards — right down to the way you talk.

“I got the role of Precious when I was 24,” Sidibe, 41, says in the episode, which was directed by Shola Lynch. “And before that, I was just acting in between whatever it was the rest of my life. And the rest of my life at that point, I was working at a call center as a phone-sex operator. FYI, the company was mostly Black women. You’re not at all allowed to be Black on the phone.”

So as Black women were often forced to do to survive in the United States pre-Civil Rights, Sidibe had to try to pass for White — at least while talking on the phone.

“There’s a Black girl line. Guess what — was barely ever called, that one. So my girl name is Melody. And every call, I’d be like [in a high-pitched, Valley Girl voice], ‘Hello.’ And he’s like, ‘Hey, what’s your name?’ ‘Hi, I’m Melody.’ ‘How you doin’? Are you good?’ ‘Yeah, I’m totally good right now. Um, I just got home from school. I’m in college, and it’s, like, my sophomore year…’ “

“We are trained to hate ourselves,” Sidibe continues. “And the world around us is also trained to reinforce it. But there’s something in me that’s like, ‘I don’t bend to that.’ Whatever it is that you don’t like about me, I’ll do it harder, and I’ll smile in your face. And that’s what I felt Precious needed to be.”

Gidibe may not have won the gold for her devastating portrayal of the title character, but she did get a shout-out from the winner — Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side — and in the documentary, a clip is shown of Bullock acknowledging Sidibe’s performance from the stage.

In the years since she made her screen debut in Precious, Sidibe has appeared in films including Tower Heist and Antebellum, and she’s had regular TV roles on Empire and Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story series.

In addition to Sidibe, Number One on the Call Sheet also features Black actresses including Halle Berry, Angela Bassett and Viola Davis discussing their Hollywood experiences. Episode 1, “Black Leading Men in Hollywood,” directed by Reginald Hudlin (House Party, Boomerang) puts the spotlight on Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy and Will Smith, among others.

Number One on the Call Sheet is now streaming on Apple TV+.