Paris Hilton remembers iconic ‘holy trinity’ shot at 18th anniversary

Paris Hilton reminisced about the “holy trinity” with Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

The media personality marked the 18th anniversary of a legendary paparazzi photo featuring herself, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan by celebrating the moment on Instagram.

“18 years ago today, this photo became the moment that defined an era,” Hilton wrote on Wednesday, alongside the iconic picture. “@BritneySpears, @LindsayLohan, and me—the Holy Trinity. Instantly iconic #LovesIt #Sliving #Y2K.”

The snap, taken in November 2006 as the trio left a party at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, quickly became a pop culture phenomenon.

However, Hilton later revealed the night wasn’t as carefree as it appeared.

Speaking on her podcast, This Is Paris, in 2021, Hilton explained that the photo captured an awkward interaction between herself and Lohan, who were feuding at the time.

“[Britney and I] were walking to the car, and all of a sudden got swarmed by tons of paparazzi,” Hilton recalled. “Just as we were walking to the car, that’s when Lindsay came up. It was kind of awkward because we were having some drama.”

The drama stemmed from a video in which Lohan had accused Hilton of hitting her. Hilton said she invited the paparazzi to ask Lohan about the claim directly.

“At that moment, I saw Lindsay walking toward us, and I said, ‘Why don’t you just ask her?’” Hilton remembered.

“And Lindsay said … ‘No, Paris would never hit me. I’ve known her since I’m 15.’ It was basically just not admitting what she did. It was quite awkward, you know, to be asked that question, and it was just weird how that whole thing happened.”

Moments later, Hilton noticed Lohan had climbed into her car. “We weren’t getting along, so I was polite,” Hilton explained. “It was really hard just to even get out of there because I couldn’t see with all the cameras.”

The Simple Life star shared that she and Lohan were once close friends, but their relationship became strained.

“She did some things to really hurt me and betrayed my trust, and caused a lot of drama,” Hilton said, describing their bond as an “on-and-off friendship.”

Now reflecting on their younger years, Hilton chalks up the tension to immaturity. At the time, Lohan was 20, while Hilton was 25.

“When I think about it now, we were just so young, immature. It was like high school drama, especially in the LA scene,” she explained. “And to live it out in public with the media constantly trying to stir things up and make things worse than they were.”

Hilton added, “Back then, the media really enjoyed having girls feud with each other.”