As It Turns Out, Paris Hilton's 'Stop Being Poor' Shirt Never Actually Happened

There are some pop culture moments that the world knows to be true. Britney Spears shaved her head, Lindsay Lohan went to jail, and Paris Hilton wore the infamous "stop being poor" shirt. But it turns out that one of those things didn't happen at all. Although you might have seen Hilton wear the controversial shirt, it was photoshopped, according to Hilton's Instagram. In fact, the graphic shirt she did wear was way more iconic and aged super well. 

Hilton has worn her fair share of unique outfits. Heck, she even wore a whopping 10 dresses to her wedding. The early 2000s, when she was the ultimate it-girl, was filled with mini skirts, bold prints, and short hemlines. She's worn everything from a fur halter top to the iconic chainmail halter dress (via W Magazine). Honestly, in the early 2000s, you never really knew what Hilton would wear next. There was no dress too short or heels too high. But while her outfit choices were bold, they were never cruel or mocking.

It's not often that you see celebrities go on social media to set the record straight about their fashion choices, but that's exactly what Hilton did. In an Instagram video, Hilton says that she never wore the "stop being poor" tank top. She says that it was actually a photoshopped moment that went so viral, people remember it to be true. "So there's this photo online of me. I'm sure you've seen it," Hilton says in the clip. "I never wore that shirt. This was completely photoshopped."

This proves that not everything you see on the Internet is true. That's the point that Hilton is trying to make. "Everyone thinks it's real, but that's not the truth," she says. "Don't believe everything you read." The person who photoshopped it knew the slogan would cause a scandal, so they chose such a controversial phrase.

It turns out that the actual shirt that Paris Hilton wore was even more iconic than the mean-spirited one. According to her video, the shirt she wore read, "stop being desperate." So, all-in-all, the moment was real, but the word "poor" was photoshopped onto her shirt over the term "desperate." Hilton wore the shirt on the catwalk for her sister Nicky Hilton's clothing line Chick, as per People. Oddly enough, the fake shirt went viral instead of the one she actually created. 

The fact that the shirt reads "stop being desperate" is pretty iconic in itself. What made the moment so believable back in the day was that Hilton wore slogan shirts like this all the time. None of them were ever as rude as "stop being poor," though. Unless, of course, you count that t-shirt she wore that read "That's hot" on the front and "you're not" on the back (via Etsy).

It's pretty incredible that Paris Hilton is getting the chance to set the record straight for herself about the photoshopped shirt. When Hilton wore the shirt, social media wasn't a thing. Instead, there were blogs and tabloid newspapers, both of which featured Hilton regularly. Unlike social media, these publications didn't often give Hilton a chance to have her own say at the time of publication. They often wrote their own narrative about her.

As Vogue points out, with the help of social media, she's able to reclaim her image. She's not the only celebrity to have done so. Emily Ratajkowski did the same thing when an artist took one of her modeling photos and sold it at an auction for tens of thousands of dollars. She used Instagram to bring attention to the injustice. It's incredible to see celebrities set the record straight and take control of their narrative.