Nothing sums up early-2000s popular culture fairly like actuality present The Simple Life, which aired for 5 seasons between 2003 and 2007.
The sequence adopted rich greatest buddies Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie as they gave up all of their luxuries and celeb standing to expertise a working-class life-style.
Most of the time, the celebs could be anticipated to get caught in with handbook labor — reminiscent of farmwork — whereas they struggled with primary duties like doing their very own laundry and placing up an ironing board.
And lots of their one-liners ended up fueling Paris and Nicole’s “dumb blonde” personas, just like the time that Paris requested: “What is Walmart? Do they sell, like, wall stuff?”
In 2020, 13 years after The Simple Life went off the air, Paris admitted that she had purposefully created a personality for the present and that she isn’t an “airhead” in spite of everything — she is “just really good at pretending to be one.”
The star defined that she even modified her pure talking voice when in entrance of the digital camera to make herself sound extra “dumb.”
During an look on the Australian morning present Sunrise, Paris mentioned: “This entire time, I have been playing a character, so the world has never really truly known who I am.”
“The actual me is definitely somebody who’s sensible, and I’m not a dumb blonde — I’m simply actually good at pretending to be one,” she went on.
As for why Paris had determined to showcase the true her now, she concluded: “For my legacy and what I wished to be remembered for. I do not need to be remembered as some airhead. I need to be revered for the businesswoman that I’m.”
And in a resurfaced clip from the fact present, followers have seen a second the place Nicole broke their typical “dumb blonde” characters to stay up for herself and Paris after they have been disrespected by any person that they have been working with.
In the scene, the 2 girls are serving to with some yardwork and placing up a paddling pool. When one man, Jimmy, asks if the work could be completed that day, James replies: “Well, when you got dumb and dumber out here…” in reference to Paris and Nicole.
Upon listening to this, Nicole marches over to James and confronts him for what he’d mentioned, threatening to “beat” his face if he dared name her or Paris “dumb” once more.
“James, I have respect for myself and this is my best friend so I have respect for her,” Nicole says. “And I am being dead fucking honest right now that if you call me dumb or her dumb one more time…”
“I don’t care how many steroids you take, how many egg yolks you drink, how many pushups you do,” she continues as James avoids eye contact and laughs awkwardly to himself. “I’m being dead fucking serious, I will beat your fucking face in.”
“You think I haven’t done it? I have done it before and I’ll do it again. I really don’t care, so watch your fucking mouth,” Nicole says.
And the star was celebrated for the way in which that she stood up for herself and her good friend when the second just lately went viral on TikTook, with one standard remark studying: “Nicole Richie is a real one.”
Many others referenced Paris’s 2020 remark about their Simple Life personas being characters, with one individual writing: “That is just Nicole breaking her character. Real Nicole came out so fast.”
“She really broke the air head character they wanted her to be to threaten someone for her bestie,” another person agreed. Another echoed: “Broke character for the best reason.”
And some praised The Simple Life for instructing them easy methods to deal with unacceptable feedback and set boundaries.
“Nicole Richie literally taught me it’s okay to respond to rude men,” one fan wrote. Another mentioned: “I loved the simple life and Paris and Nicole really did teach people a lot of boundaries and lessons.”
Even Paris herself commented on the put up, writing: “Loves it” alongside an affectionate emoji.
In 2021, Nicole seemed again fondly at her time on The Simple Life and admitted that she would assist her personal kids in the event that they wished to attempt their hand at actuality TV as soon as they have been adults.
Nicole shares 15-year-old daughter Harlow and 13-year-old son Sparrow along with her husband Joel Madden.
Reflecting on how a lot actuality TV has modified because the aughts, Nicole instructed Entertainment Tonight: “There were only two reality shows before then. It was The Osbournes and The Real World, and [The Simple Life] wasn’t that, so it was a completely new concept altogether.”
“I think it would be a different thing going into it now, it just depends on what it is,” she went on. “But if my kids said to me: ‘I want to try this new thing that hasn’t been done before.’ You just say… Well, obviously now they’re preteen, so I’m going to say no.”
“But yeah, if they’re 18 and they want to go do whatever it is, as long as it feels good and authentic to them, I’m fine with it,” Nicole added.
Meanwhile, Paris Hilton has simply welcomed her first baby. On Tuesday, the star introduced that she is now a mother after she and her husband, Carter Reum, had a little bit boy by way of surrogate.