An old, embarrassing moment for Kathy Hilton is making its rounds once again.
On an August 2022 episode of Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum played a game of “Will Kathy Know Them?” in which she guessed a celebrity’s name based on a photo.
When the 66-year-old was shown a photo of Lizzo, she said, “I feel like I do [know her]. Precious?” which caused some uncomfortable laughter from host Cohen and the studio audience.
That’s when Hilton tried to cover her tracks, adding, “That’s, like, what I call her. Her nickname’s Precious to me….”
Now, years later, Gabourey Sidibe–the actress who famously played Precious in the eponymous film–has reacted to the viral moment on the One54 podcast, published Wednesday, Feb. 4. According to the star, the moment was particularly strange because she’d had interactions with Hilton in real life, making the mix up all the more disrespectful.
“That was weird because I have been to that lady’s house and had a meeting with her,” Sidibe said. “I was like, ‘I know you— Kathy.’ “
“I’ve never met Lizzo, but Lizzo and I do different things,” she continued. “I’ve been confused for many a Black fat, like many, many, many women. And it’s always weird and tinged with racism. I did think that was weird, Kathy Hilton. Because I have been to that woman’s house and had a meeting with her because she wanted to dress me. I was like, that’s so strange.”
Not only that, Hilton didn’t even refer to Gabourey by her real name on the show, which added another layer of confusion.
“You oughta know my real name, also, ’cause she said ‘Precious?’ I just, I don’t know,” Sidibe said.
Hilton, who also mistook several other celebrities during the same Watch What Happens Live! segment, spoke out about the incident after receiving backlash.
“The screen was so far away and my vision is terrible. If you recall, I couldn’t even make out who Justin Timberlake or Melissa Etheridge was,” she wrote in a comment on Instagram at the time.
A source went on to tell E! News that the Real Housewives star felt “terrible” about her comments and “would never intentionally hurt anyone’s feelings.”
