Noughties ‘it girls’: Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and the power of the paparazzi

A picture is worth a thousand words… quite literally, in the case of the infamous ‘Bimbo Summit’ picture of 2006, which saw Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan crammed into a car together after a drunken night out, at the height of Paris and Lindsay’s tabloid-fuelled feud. The picture, which was plastered on the cover of the New York Post with the headline ‘Bimbo Summit’ went viral, and its backstory has been contested ever since, but one thing is clear: the media was toxic, and it ruled the noughties. 

In the first of this scandalous two-parter episode, we analyse how the rise and fall of Hollywood it-girls Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie was charted, and largely caused, by these blood-thirsty tabloids and their packs of hungry paparazzi, who could sell pictures for over $20,000 a pop. We look at what drove the media’s frenzied hatred for successful young women, and how complicit, we, as consumers, really were. 

Ellie also gives us a bite-size travel guide to her recent trip to Goa. If you want to borrow her itinerary, here are her favourite hotels across north and South Goa: Ashiyanya Yoga, Cabo Serai, Turiya Villa and Silva Heritage. And Kathleen heartily recommends a winter getaway at the Pig in Devon.

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