Jennifer Hudson Claims Turning Down 'Precious' Role Had Nothing To Do With Weight

Jennifer Hudson Passing on 'Precious'

Jennifer Hudson now says she did not turn down the role of 'Precious' because of her weight.

At a New York City party for her new book, "I Got This: How I Changed My Ways And Lost What Weighed Me Down," the singer/actress told The Huffington Post that, despite what she may have said in her book and on "Dateline" earlier this week, weight had nothing to do with her decision not to take the lead role in 2009's "Precious." The part eventually went to actress Gabourey Sidibe, who was nominated for an Academy Award.

"I'm totally fine with my decision. I got my Oscar," said Hudson, whose performance as Effie White in 2006's "Dreamgirls" earned her the award for Best Supporting Actress. "I'm a firm believer that what is meant for you is meant for you, and that was clearly meant for Gabourey Sidibe. I adore her, she did an amazing job, and again I did not turn the role down because of the weight situation. I just felt the character was doing things, at least in my script that I got, that were places I did not want to go and not where I needed to go."

The singer/actress, who has dropped 80 pounds since rising to fame on the third season of "American Idol" in 2004, described her decision to turn down the role differently in the new book. "As much as I was moved by this film, I wanted to try a role that had nothing whatsoever to do with my weight," she wrote.

Since passing on "Precious," Hudson has played Sarah Jessica Parker's assistant in 2009's "Sex And The City" and Winnie Mandela in a biopic of the former South African First Lady. She'll play Sister Rosemary in the Farrelly Brothers' take on "The Three Stooges," out this April.

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