TV Lionel Richie jokes daughter Nicole and Paris Hilton 'haven't changed,' new reality show 'scares' him "And now these two are back together — oh my God, world, hang on to your seat.” By Lauren Huff Lauren Huff Lauren Huff is a writer at Entertainment Weekly with over a decade of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry. After graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em, Horns!), Lauren wrote about film, television, awards season, music, and more for the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, Us Weekly, Awards Circuit, and others before landing at EW in May 2019. EW's editorial guidelines Published on May 20, 2024 10:11PM EDT If you're scared of what a new Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie–led reality show could mean for television, you probably should be — at least, according to Richie's own father, Lionel Richie. The iconic musician did not mince his hilariously relatable words when asked about the duo's new mystery project, which was first teased earlier this month and will be heading to Peacock in the near future. “They're older, but they haven't changed — trust me," he joked in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, following the American Idol finale on Sunday. "Let me tell you something, those two scare me just standing next to each other." Lionel continued, "I don't know if the world knows this, [but] they started this mess, and I was the first guinea pig daddy to go along with this." Lionel Richie; Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. Disney/Eric McCandless; Kevin Winter/Getty Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. By "this," he means Hilton and Nicole's first reality show, The Simple Life, which ran for five seasons between 2003 and 2007 on E! and Fox. It followed the two wealthy socialites as they left behind their trust funds and struggled to work low-paying jobs, such as serving meals at fast food joints or milking cows at a dairy farm. "When they first started doing things like driving down the freeway backwards, and I kept saying, 'What are you guys doing?' [She'd say] 'It's reality television, Dad,'" he told ET of the former reality show. "And now these two are back together — oh my God, world, hang on to your seat.” Paris Hilton announces second child with husband Carter Reum: 'Thankful' Thankfully, the musician joked that he's "older" now, and has "medication" to help him deal with "this next phase." But, joking aside, he told the outlet, he still supports the infamous duo, saying, "I'm very happy for both of them." Not much is known about the duo's new series, but Nicole Richie did deny that it would be a reboot of The Simple Life. "It’s been 20 years since Paris and I worked together," she said during an appearance on Good Morning America last week. "We wanted to celebrate that. I can’t tell you too much right now, but we’ve worked together to create something very special and exciting. I can’t wait for it to come out.” Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's new reality show isn't a Simple Life reboot The two first teased the new project on social media earlier this month, sharing a brief clip that featured a fuzzy TV screen with heavy static, and then the sound of Hilton and Richie singing "sanasa, sanasa," from The Simple Life. "New era, same besties. Coming soon to Peacock," Hilton captioned the post. Further details about the project — like a title — are not yet known.