Gabourey Sidibe Jokes She Joined a Prank Show Because 'According to My Therapist, I'm Addicted to Trauma'

Gabourey Sidibe is taking her love for practical jokes to the next level.

The self-proclaimed "unserious person" is bringing her renowned wit, bubbly personality and contagious laugh to ABC's The Prank Panel, which also stars prank masters Johnny Knoxville and Eric André.

And while the show is lighthearted and fun, if the Oscar nominee's therapist has anything to say about it, her reason for joining may be a bit darker .

"According to my therapist, I joined the show because I’m 'addicted to trauma,'" the 40-year-old joked to PEOPLE while at the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture. "That’s possible, but I thought it would maybe be fun and give me a chance to grow and stretch myself because I really don’t like pranks."

The ABC show is like "Shark Tank for pranks" Sidibe explained. Every day people get the opportunity to pitch their most mischievous and outlandish prank ideas to the panel of "pranxperts," who decide whether or not they want to help produce and execute the ruse.

With Knoxville and André's history as troublemakers, the American Horror Story actress did wonder how she'd fit in on the panel. "Johnny and Eric are really inventive and genius about pranks and they have such different styles that I worried about being compared to them," she confessed.

"Johnny's style is about putting people in amplified, everyday positions and seeing what comedy can come from it, and Eric’s style is more absurdist humor," she added.

However, she found her rhythm and figured out her own "pranking style." She told PEOPLE, "Turns out, I enjoy whimsical pranks that end in dance numbers, people falling in love and dreams coming true, and Johnny and Eric were both really supportive of that."

And while she was a bit trepidatious about entering the pranking world, she did admit to playing tricks on husband Brandon Frankel, whom she married in 2021. "The day before I got the offer [for the show], I’d pranked my husband into believing that I was being arrested by Canadian Officials," she recalled, "so I took it as a sign."

With André and Knoxville's unabashed personalities, things have naturally gotten out of hand on set. However, the Empire actress's hubby has been the key to keeping her out of trouble.

"When Johnny and Eric get to tasing each other, I run for cover," she said, joking, "If I get tased by accident, I’ll simply have to beat everybody’s ass and that would make things awkward for all of us. So I usually just get to safety and call my husband to complain."

As for how married life is going, Sidibe shared, "It’s been pretty good. We’re still pretty into each other!"

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The Prank Panel premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.