At the February 26, 2010 NAACP Awards, Lee Daniels, the director of Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, made what some are considering an egregious gaffe when accepting an award on behalf of the movie regarding the weight of Gabourey Sidibe who portrayed the part of precious.

“No one in Hollywood told me they wanted to see a movie about a 350 pound black girl who had HIV,” the LA Times reported Daniels as saying. He continued, saying “She’s not 350 pounds, Gabby, but the book says…before you were hired,” trying to fix his gaffe. Sidibe reportedly shook her head during the speech but no comment from her as yet has been published.

Precious, which focuses on the harsh realities of abuse that many in poverty must deal with on a daily basis, has drawn much comment and criticism about its use of food in the movie. In one scene, Precious steals a bucket of chicken, eats it all, and then vomits it all up into a nearby trashcan. Sidibe has stated publicly that she has long struggled with weight issues and in a recent appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she stated that had been dieting since she was six years old.