Paris Hilton Reveals The Truth Behind Her Infamous “Stop Being Poor” Shirt

Once viewed by the media as a vapid heiress and socialite, Paris Hilton is now having a sort of Parissance in the public sphere. It first came in the form of an intimate portrait of her life and childhood trauma in a tell-all documentary, then her activism against teen detention centers, apologies from her celebrity peers, and now, a debunked infamous image.

In a TikTok that’s now been viewed over 4.5 million times, Hilton explains that her viral “Stop Being Poor” tank top — which she was photographed wearing at a 2005 fashion show for her sister’s former fashion label Chick by Nicky Hilton — was fake.

“So there’s this photo online of me — I’m sure you’ve seen it,” Paris begins in the TikTok, as she points to the shirt. “I never wore that shirt. This was completely photoshopped. Everyone thinks it’s real, but that’s not the truth.” Then, the un-doctored photo appears on the screen, in which the shirt reads “Stop Being Desperate.” 

“Stop being desperate,” she says with a little laugh. “Don’t believe everything you read.”

The image was reportedly debunked by some people a few months after it first circulated on the internet, but the fake has still been associated with the entrepreneur for 16 years. Ever since the edited photo first went viral, Hilton assumed that the image had been tweaked by the paparazzi, but on May 3, a Twitter user named @16pxl outed themselves as the person who photoshopped the original photo. "LMAO omg paris hilton made a tik tok abt the shirt i photoshopped," they wrote.

"OMG I always thought a paparazzi agency edited it!" Hilton replied. "So hilarious & #Iconic. I thought it was funny when it came out but I also didn’t want to insult people by thinking I would wear that. Glad to finally clear this one up for the haters."