Kathy Hilton is facing intense criticism after confusing Lizzo with a character played by Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe.
On Wednesday, August 11, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member made a guest appearance on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live, during which host Andy Cohen tried to test her ability to recognize other celebrities using their picture — to pretty poor results.
After failing to identify famous faces like Justin Timberlake and Ryan Reynolds, it was already pretty obvious that Hilton has an extremely limited knowledge of contemporary pop culture. However, this ended up manifesting in a particularly awful way when Cohen showed her a photo of the "Good As Hell" singer, who Hilton identified as "Precious." As in the fictional character played by Sidibe in the critically acclaimed 2009 film of the same name.
OH MY GOD. pic.twitter.com/Gw9eQILsOl
— denver sean. (@dnvrsn) August 11, 2022
So despite attempting to cover up the gaffe by claiming that Lizzo's "nickname is 'Precious' to me," Hilton couldn't curtail the ensuing online backlash from those accusing her of being "racist as fuck," especially given how often people of color are misidentified as other people of the same race, even if they look nothing alike.
"Now, I know Kathy Hilton doesn’t know much, but how the hell did she manage to confuse Lizzo with Gabourey Sidibe? That certainly plays into the 'we all look alike to them' trope," as journalist Shar Jossell said, while another commenter wondered why people were surprised by her ignorance when "the Hilton family has always been racist."
Now, I know Kathy Hilton doesn’t know much, but how the hell did she manage to confuse Lizzo with Gabourey Sidibe?
— Shar Jossell (@SharSaysSo) August 11, 2022
That certainly plays into the “we all look alike to them” trope.
The Hilton family has always been racist y'all just seem to ignore and tolerate the racism. Kathy Hilton calling Lizzo "Precious" is not only ignorant and disrespectful but it is indeed racist as fuck.
— 👑 Mr. Weeks 👑 (@WonderKing82) August 11, 2022
Meanwhile, several more argued that confusing Lizzo for Sidibe's character was also "disrespectful" and "fatphobic," with social media star Kalen Allen pointing out that "when Precious came out, a lot of people used the character’s name as a derogatory label to fuel their fatphobia and to bully."
"So no, I don’t think that it’s funny that Lizzo, home minding her own business, had to watch herself be called Precious in front of millions on live tv," Allen continued, which another critic responded to by agreeing that the mix-up was "not funny at all."
"It’s testimony that @KathyHilton lives in a bubble and probably knows few people outside of said bubble," as they explained, before adding, "She knows @GabbySidibe b/c of the movie and that’s her only reference for a large black female. Not to mention Gabby and @lizzo don’t look alike."
Kathy Hilton damn well know Lizzo ain't Precious, a FICTIONAL character. That's mad disrespectful, racist, and fatphobic. https://t.co/XNeYXjJmov
— befunie bapteest (@StorySorcery) August 11, 2022
It’s not funny at all! It’s testimony that @KathyHilton lives in a bubble and probably knows few people outside of said bubble. She knows @GabbySidibe b/c of the movie and that’s her only reference for a large black female. Not to mention Gabby and @lizzo don’t look alike.
— PushingThru (@PhatCat4423) August 11, 2022
Neither Hilton nor Lizzo have commented on the situation.
Photos via Getty / Charles Sykes / Bravo & Gilbert Carrasquillo / GC Images