18 Celebs Remind Us That Leggings Are Indeed Pants

Update: Over the weekend, leggings have gone from a wear-everywhere athleisure staple to a widespread national debate. Following one passenger’s outraged live-tweets over United Airlines banning two young women from boarding a plane due to the fact that they were donning leggings, a.k.a. the ultra-stretchy, comfortable garments that are suddenly a major talking point. United has experienced criticism on every social media platform possible about the incident, and has even been engaged in conversations with a few outspoken celebrities. United is sticking to its defense that the girls were flying free through an Employee Pass, and thus were obligated to abide by a specific dress code.

While United has suffered the brunt of the backlash, the underlying message seems to be be less about United’s employee pass dress code and more about the age-old question of whether leggings are a acceptable replacement for pants. While the country, nay, the world, tries to settle this debate, we’ll let the ultimate leggings lovers — celebrities at airports, the grocery store, and, well, all over the place — show us exactly how to rock leggings, anywhere and everywhere. Special famous-person privileges aside, everyone from Rihanna to Selena Gomez to basically all of the Hadids, Kardashians, and Jenners seem to be getting along just fine (and quite comfortably, in fact!) in their “black-stretch-pants” attire.

Okay, can we all agree that the leggings debate is pretty much over at this point? For some pretty obvious reasons (including their undeniable utility), they're here to stay. And really, do we have to explain why it's difficult to denounce an item of clothing that is as comfortable and versatile as a trusty pair of leggings? Like us, you probably have a pair — or five — in your closets. But we're not afraid to say we're satisfied with the way celebrities have added new meaning to the everyday staple. They've gone from being something you probably only wore with a yoga mat in hand to the stretchy bottoms that, no matter how hard you try, you just can't quit.

But there's been an influx of nouveau legging iterations popping up inside (and outside) of airports, sidewalks, and even Fashion Week that we can get behind. Whether they're matte black or straight-up leather, the celebs ahead have inadvertently made themselves ambassadors of the go-to bottoms. And look, money and fame aside, if these ladies can pull it off, then that means leggings are one step closer to being universally considered as a necessity instead of one's saving grace. Click ahead for some inspiration for the next day you're feeling equal levels lazy and fashionable.