Kathy Hilton slammed after mistaking Lizzo for Precious

Published 11:27 13 Aug 2022 BST

Steve Hopkins

Kathy Hilton slammed after mistaking Lizzo for Precious

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Hilton blamed her poor eyesight

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kathy Hilton has been accused of bullying after she mistook singer Lizzo for the lead-character in the 2009 film, Precious. While appearing on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live earlier this week, Hilton was asked to identify which celebrity was being shown on screen. The game was called 'Will Kathy Know Them?' and saw Hilton also fail to identify a number of famous faces, including The Rock and Justin Timberlake. But things became a little controversial when Cohen showed Hilton a picture of Lizzo. Hilton thought she had this one, but failed, again, saying: "I feel like I do... Precious?" She had since been criticised for the comment, but tried to explain it away in the comments section on an Instagram post, writing: "The screen was so far away and my vision is terrible." https://twitter.com/lovelyti/status/1557749772546719745 She added: "If you recall, I couldn't even make out who Justin Timberlake or Melissa Etheridge was." While Hilton is said to have mistaken Lizzo for Gabourey Sidibe's character in the Oscar-winning movie, it's also possible she could have mistaken her for model Precious Lee. "That's what I call her. Her nickname is Precious, to me," Hilton said afterwards. People were outraged on social media. One person wrote: "Black women are not here to be the butt of your jokes. TF is this???" While another said: "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." A third wrote: "It came off as rude. She doesn’t care to differentiate #Lizzo from Gabourey Sidibe. Kathy wanted to take a jab and show she doesn’t care by a 'witty quip'. The way they were cacklin like it was hilarious show none of them care. It came off as rude, and childish." However, many saw the remark as simply a slip-up, saying "I don't think she meant any harm by it". Lizzo hasn't commented on the controversy.