A house tour by Paris Hilton in 2020 made for the perfect hate watch in Reddit's r/Anticonsumption thread, which is subheadlined "Consumerism Kills."
The 17-minute video documented a 16-month renovation that was complete only when everything was "all brand-new," as Hilton said. Some of the extravagance on display included kitchen cabinets and drawers packed to the gills with goods, a pantry like a small warehouse, and a garage stuffed with clothes, handbags, and craft supplies.
After touring a redone closet with more than 100 pairs of shoes, Hilton said she wasn't going to add more — even though "I have, like, literally 20 giant boxes full of shoes at my storage unit."
She later said, "Do I have more fun and interesting things than anyone you've ever organized?"
Perhaps the biggest eyebrow-raiser was Hilton's seeming detachment from the enormous project, a full gut and remodel. After the house's interior was demolished, but before it was remodeled, she did a walk-through, regretting a door that had been ripped out ("I hope they build another one") and wondering about the kitchen ("This was not part of the plan. They were only supposed to do, like, a few rooms. So far, everything is gone.").
When it was almost time to move back in, she said she was happy with the work, lamenting only a lone lightbulb in a closet — "They better put a chandelier in the sky."
"This is greed, folks," one Redditor wrote. "And it's disgusting."
Another said: "I [can't] even fathom what 1 person needs that much space or stuff for."
The great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels, Paris is a socialite and television star who started a clothing line, among other endeavors. The fashion industry makes 80 to 100 billion new garments annually, and the resulting waste accounts for 7% of global landfill space and 92 million tons of textile waste each year.
It's not the first time or last a celebrity will be caught in the Anticonsumption group's crosshairs, which has featured Kim Kardashian's closet and John Travolta's mansion.
Others with fame, however, are traveling in the opposite direction. Chef Massimo Bottura, for example, is tackling food waste and feeding those in need.
"Ugh. Couldn't get even a quarter of the way through it," another commenter said. "She represents everything that is wrong with 'civilization.' I don't know why people give her the time of day."
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