What do you know about Sofia Richie? I only learned that a person named Sofia Richie exists earlier this year. She turned 18 years old this year. She’s Lionel Richie’s daughter. She’s Nicole Richie’s younger sister. She dated Justin Bieber for several months. And that’s it. That’s literally all I know about her. Of course, that doesn’t mean that she’s totally vapid and without personality – she could easily walk into an interview and wow me with her thoughts on music, feminism, celebrity, social media, what have you. But that’s not what happened. What happened is that Sofia agreed to sit down for an interview with Complex and then her publicist tried to literally shut down EVERY SINGLE QUESTION. The publicist didn’t want Sofia to talk about her father, or her sister. Or Justin Bieber. Or fame. Or love. Or anything. It’s actually really hilarious, because Complex immediately shifts the focus away from “here’s a standard profile of a young celebrity who is famous for nothing” and it becomes “this girl is vapid and her publicist is an a—hole.”
Oh, and Justin Bieber’s other alleged girlfriend Bronte Blampied was there for the entire interview too. Bronte and Sofia are BFFs now and they go to Bible study classes together. You cannot make this up. You can read the full Complex piece here (it really is an amazing hate-read if you have a few minutes). Some highlighted quotes from the questions Sofia was allowed to answer once her publicist settled down:
The bad comments on her social media: “This sh-t is crazy! I was laughing about my life, like, oh my god, people are so psychotic. Some girl I don’t even know commented on my picture a week ago, ‘You should go kill yourself.’ I just had to say something. I commented back, ‘I just want to understand the sadness in your heart.’ A lot of people say they know me and my life, but no one really does. Except for, like, my family and Bronte. It’s frustrating. My whole thing is I’m trying to spread love to everyone. Some people don’t see that, but I really am trying to spread positivity to people.”
Whether she’s actually dating Bronte Blampied, not Justin Bieber: “She’s like another sister to me. Honestly, Bronte and I just love each other. [My] love life is interesting. I’m trying to stay focused on my career and my family and give as much love out. I’m trying to do the best I can with L.A. and travel and everything that’s happening around me.”
She mostly has guy friends: “I was the most reckless little kid. I only had guy friends. I had a Nintendo and, when I went to normal school, I used to tape it under my desk and then pull it out and play on it. I still mainly only have guy friends; Bronte is, like, my only girlfriend.”She grew up with the Jenners & Hadids: “We all grew up the same way, so we all kind of had that understanding of everything. Just a looking-out-for-each-other kind of sense—sisters. Everyone’s like Gigi Hadid! And I’m like, ‘Oh, Gigi? Oh.’ I’m really proud of all them, though.”
She’s super-Christian: “I went to Oaks Christian, if you’ve heard of that? It’s in the Valley. I went there for two years, and that’s where I got my sense. My family wanted church to be a place where we all went together. My dad was always traveling and my mom was always working. School is where I did Bible classes and studied God.” Richie’s really serious about God, calling her faith her “main ground” and “the most interesting thing in my life.” She ticks off a list of books she’s reading, including The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, a best-selling guide to communicating with your partner, and Emotions: Freedom From Anger, Jealousy, and Fear by Osho, a self-help book. “I went to the bookstore and I was like, this is all so deep! So the least-deep one I found was Emotions.”
She’s been criticized for taking modeling gigs: “It’s not like I called and begged these designers to work with me. They felt my vibe and we were cool and that’s that. People obviously don’t respect some of the shoots I do because I’m short and this or that, but I really don’t let that stuff get to me.”
Hollywood racism: “I’m very light, so some people don’t really know that I’m black. I’ve been in situations where people will say something kind of racist and I’ll step in and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, well, you’re light.’ That still doesn’t cut it, buddy. It’s 2016—you better get your sh-t together before you get slapped out here.”
She’s not going to be just a socialite: “You’re a socialite because you’re born into it. That’s not what I want. I actually really enjoy work ethic.”
The lengthiest part of the dialogue between the Complex journalist, Bronte and Sofia was when they begin to go on and on about their Bible study classes and how they’ve learned how to support each other and love is all you need, and I desperately wanted the publicist to interrupt but he didn’t. As for the rest of it… she’s a vapid 18-year-old. She doesn’t do anything but hang out with friends, go to Bible study, go shopping and maybe date Justin Bieber (or perhaps date Bronte). “I actually really enjoy work ethic” – she sounds like a robot socialite.
Photos courtesy of Complex, WENN.
Ha! Yes, tell me the ways in which you can enjoy work ethic.
She’s enjoying work ethic with that snake up there, dude.
Modelling is hard physical labour. Didn’t Ashley Graham call herself an athlete?
When other people has it, and she gets money for nothing.
Eh I dunno. She’s the teenage daughter of a celebrity. What pearls of wisdom were you expecting?
Agreed. Awfully harsh on an 18 year old.
Nope. Not harsh at all. Even just reading these few bits had me laughing at her stupidity. This girl has all the privilege in the world to be educated. Many young people manage to be a lot smarter than her without that.
I didn’t find this coverage harsh. I will say it’s a big red flag to me whenever any woman says “I mostly have guy friends”. The only women I have ever known that say things like that are trying to “other”. As in, “other women are all like X, but not me!” It’s usually a sign that someone holds deeply held misogynistic beliefs whether they recognize it or not.
Yeah, but I think it’s natural for most teenagers to be exclusionary like that. If she were an adult with such a strong “me vs. them” mentality, I’d be more concerned. Her interview itself doesn’t bother me, but what does is the continued lionization of teenagers who are famous for nothing other than having famous relatives, especially in magazines ostensibly aimed at adults. The shameless glorification of vapidity is one of the many reasons America is currently in the predicament it’s in.
What Nina said. Many girls, including myself, were very women-exclusionary as teens. But teens do just about everything to show how ‘different and mature’ they are. It’d be a lot more concerning if this behaviour continued into her, or anyone’s 20s.
So, besides being a Ritchie and already doing drugs on rich men’s yachts as the grapevine whispers, what else has this kid done to merit an interview and, well, any media exposure?
I have more guy friends than girl friends. I think this is because I grew up with all brothers and mostly boys in the neighborhood. If you wanted playmates you played with the guys and had to be better than the guys at the game. So I am more comfortable around guys.
I’m the same as @swak – I grew up very close with my brother, so I feel more comfortable around guys. It’s embarrassing, I sometimes get nervous around my own gender!
I agree! They are always the ones yelling about girls being so much drama!!!! Please I was hoping this younger generation would lift each other up. This makes me glad for young celebrities like Rowan Blanchard, Zendaya, and Yara Shahidi. However, those troll comments about her looks are disgusting.
Yes, that is what many don’t understand. If you happen to have more male or female friends, whatever. But the fact that it is a boasting point is what is problematic. And the fact that men never see having all female friends as a point of pride. They never see it as being “more mature.” The “I have no girlfriends!” boast is just as disturbing to me as the “never trust a woman with no female friends” bullshit. Never trust a woman who BOASTS about having no female friends, but why care about the gender of friendship? Or any relationship?
Celebitchy, its too early for this. STOP.
She’s posing smeared in oil, half naked with a snake. Are you sure it’s too early?
We see mostly naked women every where, but there’s something uniquely disturbing about this photo. The pose, the oil, the fact that she’s only 18, it feels way too exploitative.
Right? Wow….. she’s only 18 for crying out loud.
and her face looks younger than 18 which upped the ick factor to me
“I actually really enjoy work ethic” might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever read.
I seriously felt myself growing dumber as I read those pull quotes. Nice job, kid.
Yeh… I read that part a couple times. Uh.
I know, right? Helped me understand that saying, “Dumb as a box of rocks.”
I’m in a kooky mood this Friday (sleep deprived but excited about upcoming events). That quote has just really tickled me. I keep laughing about it!
Maybe “work ethic” is a new street drug that we’re just not cool enough to know about :).
The Writer is a HERO for that snarky piece Talk about making Lemonade when Life handed you ONE vapid Lemon and its publicist to make do!
Yes, that’s a great way to put it, lol. That’s one resourceful journo.
Is she a model or actress or somethimg? What’s her job? Legit question bc she has a publicist so she must call herself one of these things?
She looks just like her daddy.
Yeah, and that ain’t a good thing! 😉
Really? I find her really pretty actually. I like her look, it’s unique. Though she does have that same baby-face syndrome as Selena Gomez which undermines her attempts to look sexy. She’s a very cute girl.
She definitely has his jaw.
Looking at that cover and thanking heavens that I don’t have a daughter. I am sure she has money. Why pose like that? And I know she is a legal adult… But could no one that loves her tell her that is a bad idea?
She’s a cute girl. That just looks sad to me.
She still has her child face and is years away from her woman face, so her pose is creepy gross. She’s sad to watch and her appearance is also looking drugged up.
That pose got me too. She looks vulgar being so young. I wonder who her mother is. She talks like Kylie Jenner, two peas in a pod. I like Nicole better!
See I felt this way too, she is a beautiful girl, but a girl and still so young and this pose just seems so wrong… I actually felt gross even looking at it
+1, who in his/her right mind OKs such a pic? she is very pretty but this pic makes her look cheap and vulgar.
In all of the photos, she looks very slack jawed and dead eyed. She doesn’t seem like a legit model to me. Her eyes are even more vacant than Kendall’s.
No one stopped her from dating Justin Bieber when she was underage, so I’m gonna say that no one is looking out for her.
But do the revealing photoshoots, films, selfies, and album covers of Justin Bieber, Adam Levine, Lenny Kravitz, Zayn Malik, Nick Jonas, Orlando Bloom, and Channing Tatum make any of you glad you don’t have sons? Have those men ‘cheapened themselves’ as human beings just because they’re cool with being seen in underwear or without their shirts (and more) in ‘sexy’/controversial pictures and videos, or do we mostly say that women are the ones who are suddenly ‘cheap’ because of how many people have seen them in beachwear or less in sexy photos? (just like we do with the sex people have). Should ‘someone who loved them’ have told them, “It’s a bad idea for you as a consenting adult involved in the world of entertainment and modeling to portray yourself in a way that isn’t ‘sexually modest’? There are plenty of people on this planet of both sexes between the ages of 18 and 93 who I love and respect, but that love doesn’t mean I’d be scared or have a moral panic about them posing in their underwear or beachwear. And whether or not she has money has nothing to do with it. Women as individuals have all kinds of different comfort zones and stances on ‘female modesty’ when it comes to their own bodies, whether they’re ridiculously rich, dirt poor, or anything in-between.
Yes!
ditto.
most of us forget how deeply we have this idea of female modesty( product of sexism and misogyny) entrenched within us
Nepotism much! It’s getting out of control. If she wasn’t the child of the celebrity I highly doubt any of us would even know about her. I feel the same about Kendall, Kylie, Bella, and her sister. Give me a break already.
She looks like a mini Khloe to me. That’s all I got.
She does look like Khloe. Maybe you discovered the mystery of Khloe’s true parentage. It makes senses actually. Kris supposedly was much like her daughters in her youth, hmm!!!
She wouldn’t know what a work ethic was if it slapped her in the face.
Eh, based on the excerpt I like her. I’m sure she’s an obnoxious rich kid but within that context she doesn’t seem too bad. She sounds like she has some sense of humor about herself and some spirit. She’s 18 and sheltered by privilege.
Agreed. She’s an eighteen-year-old who’s just learning about what it means to be an adult. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t dropping any pearls of wisdom at that age, either.
I kinda like her too. I am not expecting much from any 18 year old that is being interviewed by a top publication. She has a personality.
Aren’t they adopted?
No. Nicole Richie was adopted by Lionel and his first wife. Sofia is the product of his second marriage.
Nicole is adopted, Sofia is Lionel’s biological child.
She has one of the WORST dye job I have ever seen in my life. And I used to dye my hair pink, so I know what i’m talking about.
I feel like most 18-year-olds think they are super deep and know everything, and when you combine that with national publications actually asking your opinion because you are the child of a celebrity, this mess happens.
I think the publicist knows this, and that’s why they shut it down.
She must have some dumb as f@ck opinions to require only very specific questions.
Also,I really hate that people are getting on her for her ‘sexy’ pose. Imagine all that pressure, growing and maturing as a teen and then trying to figure out your sexuality In the public eye. While also being bombarded by Hollywoods obsession with ‘hot’. I guess I also have issues labelling the female body as ‘vulgar’, regardless of the pose.
“I really hate that people are getting on her for her ‘sexy’ pose…I guess I also have issues labelling the female body as ‘vulgar’, regardless of the pose.”
Same. It was basically some pearl-clutching and slut-shaming over what’s basically some person in either underwear or a bikini channeling Britney’s 2003 VMAs perfomance for a pretty tame photoshoot as a model. Put any male celebrity in a ‘sexy’ beachwear/underwear/shirtless photoshoot and you won’t get that kind of reaction.
OF my friend, I really think it is only the two of us sometimes.
It’s just boggling to me. If there is a pattern in behaviour, that many young adults go through this, then there is something behind it. A force, a cultural idea, whatever.
There isn’t a gaggle of oversexed child women who biologically NEED to thrust their mons at you. There is a group of young women who have learned that their sexuality and presentation is their value, that just happens to be one facet. Over doing the body modifications is another. These aren’t coming from a deficit on the kids part. This is coming from a cultural deficit. Attack the system that produces this, not the individual. It’s not effective, smart, fair, or kind. Also, she’s allowed to be sexual, and that’s not disgusting. There’s just so much with this issue, I can’t even get it all out in a logical paragraph.
I dunno. I just have a lot of sympathy for this young woman. Her ideas around sexuality, coupled with having only male friends, and her attitude around it, its not going to be pretty.
“These aren’t coming from a deficit on the kids part. This is coming from a cultural deficit. Attack the system that produces this, not the individual. It’s not effective, smart, fair, or kind. Also, she’s allowed to be sexual, and that’s not disgusting.”
Yes.
It’s her physical form that she exists in and she gets to do whatever she wants with it and at least she’s somewhat protected from how predatory society can be. The real issue is not the person posing for the photo; it’s the market around the photo.
Women and girls are told their whole lives that there’s power and opportunity in their appearance but we don’t focus on the highly profitable industries and their customers who create this. Instead we focus on 18 year old girls, the most vulnerable group in this arrangement: show this much but not too much. Look this way but not that way etc.
If just one of these kids would say “Look, who are we kidding? Designers and magazines want to work with me, because of my name. Because of who my mother/father/sister is. They make money because I have tons of followers on social media. And I have tons of followers because I was born into priviledge.BUT I want to build my own career, I want to be taken serious because I get up early, be on time, I am polite and work hard.”
Instead we get “Designers feel my vibe”. What vibe?
Well said, greenmonster. Too bad her publicist couldn’t have coached her on that.
I think Zoe Kravitz said something like that, like “Let’s be honets, my name opened a lot fo doors for me”
Madonna may be a lot of things, but she raised her daughter right considering the celebrity world and mega wealth she grew up in and around. She had a grounded, low-key father also, which helped. But Madonna had primary custody, and even he praised her.
Many celebrity kids like Sofia are just not well-rounded or even articulate. Their focus is on such a shallow level of fame for fame’s sake because they are the daughter or son of a famous person. Yet, they somehow are asked to give an interview to a national publication. LOL
Looks like it didn’t go so well with Rocco. He had a different father though iirc?
Bieber speaks this way as well. It’s the lack of education which is shocking considering the money she comes from. Even Nicole Richie sounded more together than this at her most vapid period. Different generations, I guess.
Guys, Lionel Richie is Nicole’s STEPFATHER. They do not share a drop of blood. Her father’s name is Peter Escovedo. Lionel adopted her when she was nine.
No, Lionel Richie is Nicole’s FATHER if as you said he adopted her when she was nine. When a man adopts a child he does not become a “stepfather”.
If Lionel adopted her isn’t he her father not stepfather?
Yep. If he adopted her, he is her father. If her mother married him, then he would be her stepfather.
There are rumors that Nicole is actually Richies biological child but so as not to embarrass his(then) wife he claimed to adopt her. Looking at the resemblance between the sisters it seems believable.
What an awkward pose, does this try hard have a mother?? Someone please help her. Even the fake snake is soo embarrassed..
“I’ve been in situations where people will say something kind of racist and I’ll step in and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, well, you’re light.’ ”
I understand this. In winter I’m ghostly and people do act like you’ve got no reason to be upset about their racist views or jokes because you’re not “black-black”. The same people that go “I’m sorry, but if you’re lighter than me [them] you’re white”. Like, s-d that. Some random white person does not get to butcher my family tree or cut my Jamaican family and upbringing out of my identity just because they’ve never experienced the kind of colour diversity that exists in non-white communities. Colourism exists, and we do benefit from it, but to deny us our heritage? They can take a seat.
Other than that, It’s quite a daft interview, but that’s kinda what we were expecting, right?
edit: and that is an awful cover. What in the heck were her people thinking.
I get it all the time. At the Thanksgiving dinner i attended a drunken woman asked me what i was (meaning race). I told her I was black and she didn’t believe me. I told her i was but my mother had a fair complexion and she exclaimed, ‘So you’re what they used to call high yella’.
And this woman considers herself liberal, at least while sober.
OWN network’s soap opera “Queen Sugar” about black siblings inheriting a sugarcane plantation features a diner called High Yellow, owned by their aunt, patronized by all races. I don’t know if that’s an in joke or the way the community rolls or what. Has wonderful Rutina from “True Blood.”
Yep, colorism is very real.
I cannot even count the number of times some white girl was excited because her skin was “darker” than mine in the summetime. They stopped messing with me when I started responding “But my gold is year round and won’t lead to cancer.”
That “you better get your sh-t together before you get slapped out here.” made me chuckle. The sentiment rings true.
it’s pretty amazing what crap people when say when they think you pass for white. I am white (and look it), and a lot of people like to use it as an opportunity to talk crap about other races to me, like our shared whiteness makes me share their racism. Sorry, I am actually NOT waiting for all the non-whites to leave the room so I can say what I really feel, unlike you, apparently. I don’t think or feel that way.
Not at all the same as your experience, of course, but I absolutely believe people say stuff like that to you and don’t even notice their racism.
I just read the full article and the writer is unbearable. I dont mind a snarky interview to take down someone truly vile but this is an 18 year old girl. She is still a teenager and that dbag writer decided to describe the pimples on her forehead? Who does that? Frankly, she sounds way smarter than any of that crew. And she is right to refuse to give quotes about her ex and her friends. She gave him plenty of material without gossiping about her circle, if that wasnt enough he should have cancelled the interview. I hate bullies like this! He would never ever ever try this on someone like Bieber who actually does deserve snark.
All I got out of this is that she sucks at geography. Oaks Christian is in Westlake Village. That’s not the Valley. but okay.
She’s not very attractive at all. It’s quite a shame. This shoot is just…no. Also, she needs a nose job. And I love the fact that she has a publicist when she does NOTHING??? Like she doesn’t act, or sing, or go on talk shows, so what tf does she need a publicist for other than to talk to TMZ?
People like u are what’s wrong with the world, your telling an 18 to get a nose job. Hope u don’t have any flaws
And you, Ivy, are the reason why underage girls like Kylie Jenner have extensive plastic surgery…isnt it ironic that all the people here call out these girls surgery and call them ‘vapid’, but forget they made fun of them, and drove them to it?
There is nothing wrong with her nose or anything else about her. This comment only reflects on your preferences and your immaturity, since you ink people shpouls get plastic surgery to please you. I wouldn’t waste time replying to you, but I wouldn’t want another person to read your comment and think there is something wrong with their face because it looks like hers.
Her nose is perfect.
It’s adorable, symmetrical, and gives her face character and interest. This get a nose job shit is nonsense.
The complex mag photo. Look at her face and tell me that Sofia & Khloé do not have the same father. I dare you. They look like twins don’t they?
Khloe who?
kardashian
Go to college, Sofia.
She’s young, she’s cute and she’s young. Cut her some slack.
This is a disturbing picture that looks like child exploitation.
So that is why she straightens and bleaches her hair. So, people will KNOW she embraces her “Blackness” Puhleeeze~!
Hollywood nepotism is out of hand!
Not too interested in what an 18 year old has to say…but she sure is nice to look at. Unique face.
[*Hopefully she doesn’t get a hold of the Kardashian’s plastic surgeon’s phone number.*]