Paris Hilton’s mom, Kathy Hilton, is under fire on social media after confusing the singer Lizzo with Gabourey Sidibe’s Precious character.
Hilton appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Wednesday night and played a little game of “Will Kathy Know Them?” where she had to identify a celebrity by name.
With Hilton known for being out of the pop culture loop, the game was likely meant to poke fun at The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
star. But Hilton became a trending topic for all the wrong reasons when Lizzo’s photo popped up.When it came time to identify the Grammy Award-winning artist, Hilton squinted her eyes to think if she recognized her, saying, “I feel like I do.” She then blurted out, “Precious?”
Hilton was referring to the 39-year-old actress who rose to fame in 2009 after starring in the Oscar-nominated film Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
. The WWHL audience expressed their shock at Hilton’s response, with some crew members even bursting out laughing.Hilton’s co-star Crystal Kung Minkoff attempted to clean up the hotel heiress’ slip-up, but the damage had already been done.
“She is precious, though. Lizzo is precious,” Minkoff said.
On social media, Hilton has been obliterated for what many think was a display of her alleged bias.
“This is a pretty racist comment but because the fans like Kathy, they’re laughing it off,” one user wrote.
“I don’t know how to feel about this,” added another.
The Ellen Show alum Kallen Allen explained
his discomfort with the awkward live television moment.“When Precious came out, a lot of people used the character’s name as a derogatory label to fuel their fatphobia and to bully,” Allen tweeted.
“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.”
Hilton has yet to post anything in response to the remark. Lizzo hasn’t responded either.