The Tiffany Haddish and Kathy Hilton Runway Controversy, Explained
Gilbert Carrasquillo
Why was Tiffany Haddish walking the runway at the Monse show? Short answer: because Kathy Hilton dared her to. For the long answer to the Tiffany Haddish and Kathy Hilton runway controversy, keep reading.
While the video of Haddish walking the catwalk had been circulating earlier, the drama began when Paris Hilton, Kathy’s daughter, posted a video of the moment to Instagram. At the Monse show in New York, Haddish happened to be seated beside Paris, her sister Nicky, and Kathy in the front row. The clip shows Kathy instructing Haddish to go “right now,” and to “wave” as she walked the runway in the middle of the show. In her caption, Paris explained, “My mom @KathyHilton dared @TiffanyHaddish to hit the @MonseMaison runway ?? But like Tiff always says… ‘She Ready!’”
But while Paris clearly saw the whole thing as harmless fun, the commenters saw something different. Specifically, many pointed out that the optics of this made it look like the rich white women were bullying Haddish, who is Black, into doing something embarrassing—not to mention, disrespectful to the designers—that they would never do themselves. (For their part, the brand didn’t appear bothered; they also shared the video on their Instagram feed.)
One heavily liked comment under Paris’s post read, “Let’s make the black girl do something funny.” Some people addressed their comments directly to Paris, while others addressed Haddish, but almost all agreed that it seemed like Kathy was laughing at Haddish and not with her.
Kathy Hilton has been called out for her comments about Black women in the past, such as the time she confused Lizzo with actor Gabourey Sidibe, who played the titular character in the movie Precious.
I’m not in a position to tell you if the Tiffany Haddish and Kathy Hilton runway episode was an instance of intentional racism or bullying. I can only say for certain that the joke did not go over as well as anticipated.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
