Kathy Hilton Mistakes Lizzo For Precious Sparks Backlash Chron

Kathy Hilton Mistakes Lizzo For ‘Precious’, Sparks Backlash – Chron

Entertainment News / By /

Kathy Hilton of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills blames poor eyesight for mistaking singer Lizzo for the title character in the 2009 film Precious.

In the comments section of the @QueensofBravo Instagram account, Hilton wrote in the comments section of the @QueensofBravo Instagram account of the criticism she faced over the error: “The screen was so far away and my vision is terrible. If you remember, I couldn’t even tell who Justin Timberlake was or Melissa Etheridge was.”

Lizzo didn’t seem bothered by Hilton’s mistake or the backlash that followed, posting vacation snaps on Thursday Twitter with the caption“In the meantime…”

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The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Kathy Hilton has been labeled online as fatphobic and racist for mistaking singer Lizzo for the title character in the 2009 film Precious. During her appearance on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live” on Wednesday, Hilton was tasked with guessing who an on-screen celebrity was in a game called “Will Kathy Know Them.”

Hilton, 63, made multiple guesses wrong and failed to accurately identify Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Justin Timberlake. Embarrassment ensued, however, when Cohen pulled up a photo of Grammy winner Lizzo. “I feel like… Precious?” guessed Hilton. The response caused Cohen and Hilton’s “Housewives” co-star Crystal Kung Minkoff, who was also a guest on Wednesday’s show, to burst out laughing.

Hilton likely mistook Lizzo, 34, for the title character, played by Gabourey Sidibe in the Oscar-winning 2009 drama Precious. However, it’s also possible she mistook the singer for 32-year-old model Precious Lee. Attempting to rectify the error, Minkoff, 39, reached out to Hilton to say: “However, she is valuable. Lizzo is valuable.”

“That’s what I call her,” Hilton added. “To me, her nickname is Precious.”

Lizzo fans were quick to respond on Twitter, criticizing Hilton for comparing Lizzo to another plus-size black socialite. Among them was E! Host Nina Parker, who wrote on Twitter, “Black women are not here to be the butt of your jokes.”

Internet personality Kalen Allen also chimed in, tweeting, “When ‘Precious’ came out, a lot of people used the character’s name as a derogatory label to fuel and bully their fat phobia. So no, I don’t find that funny Lizzo, who was minding her own business at home, had to watch her being called Precious in front of millions on live TV.”

Another tweeted: “For me it’s the fat phobia and racism. Because she and Gabby look NOTHING alike but calling her Precious like that’s a real person and not a character. Lizzo has to curse all these mfs.”

Some came to Hilton’s defense, calling her mistake an honest mistake. “Everybody needs to calm down because Kathy called Lizzo Precious. The woman didn’t recognize anyone,” one fan tweeted.

“Supermodel Precious Lee and musician Lizzo are gorgeous women who look amazing alike,” wrote another. “@KathyHilton didn’t disparage any of these icons, but Crystal and @Andy’s sustained laughter was mean and childish.”

Lizzo, Lee and Sidibe publicly commented on Hilton’s interview.