In an attempt to sample how the other, poorer half lives, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s first season of The Simple Life uprooted the heiresses from L.A. and took them to Arkansas, where they bunked up on the Leding family farm. Among the “simple” challenges the two socialites faced working minimum-wage jobs, manning a county fair kissing booth and cooking were just a few it was often basic conversations with regular people that proved the most challenging. In one particularly memorable scene, Hilton claimed to not know what Walmart was, asking if the megachain was a place where “they sold wall stuff.” Whether by design or legitimate ignorance (we hope it was the former, but suspect the latter) Hilton’s comment made her look completely out of touch with not only simple life, but real life as well.
32 Epic Moments in Reality-TV History
From American Idol mania to The Real World's first spat, TIME looks at the best, the worst and the most tasteless episodes of the genre that's been a national obsession for nearly 30 years
The Simple Life: Walmart Mystifies Paris
Full List
Reality-TV Moments
- Jersey Shore: Snooki Gets Punched
- Deadliest Catch: Captain Phil Harris Dies On Air
- Punk’d: Justin Timberlake Cries
- Toddlers & Tiaras: A Preschooler in a Madonna Cone Bra?
- The Hills Is Revealed as Fake in the Series Finale
- Survivor: Kelly Wiglesworth Gets Slammed
- The Real World: Puck vs. Pedro
- America’s Next Top Model: Tyra’s Big Tantrum
- The Bachelor: Jason Picks Melissa, Then Molly
- An American Family: The Louds Split Up
- American Idol: Kelly Clarkson Becomes a Star
- Celebrity Big Brother: The Racism Scandal
- The Real Housewives of DC: White House Gate-Crashers
- Dancing with the Stars: Tom DeLay’s ‘Wild Thing’
- Extreme Makeover: The First Shocking Transformation
- Top Chef: The Head-Shaving Incident
- Newlyweds: Jessica Simpson and the Chicken of the Sea
- Jon & Kate Plus 8: The Gosselins Announce Their Divorce
- Fear Factor: Rat Smoothie Anyone?
- 16 and Pregnant: Lori Gives Up Her Baby
- The Osbournes: Defining Modern Celebreality
- Project Runway: A Cheating Designer Is Kicked Off
- The Girls Next Door: The Bunny Swap
- Britain’s Got Talent: Susan Boyle’s Singing Stuns Judges
- Flavor of Love: Pumpkin Spits in New York’s Face
- The Apprentice: Omarosa Gets Fired and Hired and Fired
- The Simple Life: Walmart Mystifies Paris
- Rock of Love: Bret Michaels’ First Annual Mudbowl
- 19 Kids and Counting: Baby No. 19 Goes Home
- Jackass: Scott Plamer Skydives Without a Parachute
- Queer Eye: The Nudist Episode
- Celebrity Rehab: Jeff Conaway Breaks Down