Fifteen years ago this month, Paris Hilton sashayed into a press conference in Dubai dressed in a flowing jalabiya and bejewelled hairpiece and announced she was in town to find a BFF, an acronym used to denote “best friend forever”.
“Salamu alekum,” she greeted the gathered media, revealing that she was in the UAE to film Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF, a spin-off of her hugely successful MTV show Paris Hilton's My New BFF. In the show, which ran for two seasons in the US in 2008 and 2009, a group of women and men compete to become Hilton's new best friend. The Dubai spin-off was the show's second international version, after the UK.
“I wanted to know everything about this place first because I wanted to make sure everything was OK,” Hilton said at the event, held at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City. “I just want to respect everyone here.
“I love the way the women dress here,” she added. “It's a lot more conservative and elegant than Hollywood.”
An all-female group of 23 cast members were also revealed, as well as Emirati filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja, who served as co-host and also cultural adviser.
As to who constitutes her BFF, Hilton told The National: “Oh, you know, just BBM, texts, calls and when I come over here I’ll visit her. We’re planning a trip where she’s going to come and see me in LA.”
Hilton filmed across the city for 20 days and also made a stop in Abu Dhabi at Etoiles nightclub in the Emirates Palace hotel. “My first time in Abu Dhabi, Huge!” she posted on Twitter.
But Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF would face delays as the production companies behind it fought multimillion-dollar legal battles in Dubai and Los Angeles. The US-based Lionsgate Television later sued the Dubai-based Uniqon Emirates LLC, the local partner and producer, for $8 million (Dh29m) claiming they had failed to cough up $4.7m that was crucial to the show's completion.
The show finally aired in June 2011, following delays, and Kuwaiti contestant Reem Al Alnezi was revealed as the eventual winner in the ninth and final episode.
Paris Hilton's Dubai BFF was the final show in the series. Speaking to The National ahead of the show's premiere, Hilton spoke of receiving offers to film the series in other countries but decided that it was time to call it a day.
“I’ve really enjoyed doing it, but I have enough BFFs,” she giggled.
