Paris Hilton is developing a documentary project about the stars of the 2000s
The dark side of the tabloid era
Paris Hilton is returning to the era that made her one of the defining icons of 2000s pop culture. She will appear in the new documentary project The It Girls: Inside the 2000s and will also serve as an executive producer through her media company, 11:11 Media.
According to Roku, the title is currently a working one, and the project is still in pre-production. It will premiere exclusively on The Roku Channel in 2027. An exact release date has yet to be announced.
The project will explore the early 2000s — a time when paparazzi, tabloids, gossip blogs and reality television fundamentally transformed the very notion of fame. Young stars’ private lives were turned into a nonstop spectacle, while their relationships, appearances, mistakes and mental health crises became content that generated millions for media companies.
The creators plan to examine how the tabloid industry commodified celebrities while laying the foundations for today’s influencer culture. Behind the glossy red-carpet images, headline-making parties and iconic Y2K looks often lay invasions of privacy, sexism and the cruel treatment of women.
The project will feature archival material, previously unreleased conversations and new, candid interviews with women who found themselves at the center of tabloid culture. Its creators aim not simply to recreate the atmosphere of the 2000s, but to reexamine familiar images and headlines from the perspective of those whose lives were once subjected to relentless public scrutiny.
The upcoming project is based on journalist Sarah Ditum’s book Toxic: Women, Fame, and the Tabloid 2000s. In it, the author examines the stories of nine famous women: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, singer Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, wrestler Chyna and Jennifer Aniston.
Through their stories, Ditum explores how the media imposed certain public personas on celebrities, exploited their vulnerability and turned personal tragedies into entertainment. She pays particular attention to body shaming, the policing of female sexuality and the near-total absence of a right to privacy.
It remains unclear, however, who besides Paris Hilton will appear in the documentary. Roku has yet to announce its full lineup of participants, meaning that the celebrities named above are, for now, only the women featured in the source book.
According to Hilton, the early 2000s forever changed what it meant to be famous: the cameras were always on, headlines were everywhere and there was no rulebook for handling that level of attention.
«We were basically the original influencers before there was even a word for it», Paris Hilton said.
Photo: Instagram @parishilton
