19 years ago, Pink itted she hates performing, she sings "I'm tired of being compared to damn Britney Spears." While the singer was mainly expressing frustration with the music industry, it's often interpreted as a dig at the Princess of Pop.

In the early 2000s, stars like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Jessica Simpson were at the forefront of pop culture. From Hilton and Richie's dumb blonde duo act on The Simple Life to Simpson's "chicken by the sea" comment on Newly Weds: Nick and Jessica, Pink felt frustrated by the way these women portrayed themselves. Pink was an outlier among the other popular women of the decade, and she wished more people would follow her example. As a result of her anger, Pink released a 2006 anthem that would shake up the world.

"Stupid Girls" Was Criticized For Targeting Other Women

Pink's Song Was Accused Of Villainizing Femininity

Mentions of eating disorders.

While it may not have been Pink's intention, "Stupid Girls" has received a lot of criticism throughout the years for targeting other women. In the song, the pop-rock singer calls out women for dancing in 50-cent music videos, carrying tiny dogs, and wearing little t-shirts. The dog lyric seemed to specifically target The Simple Life stars, who were known for their Chihuahuas and Pomeranians at the time.

Pink also refers to these women as "p***o paparazzi girls" and makes fun of their blonde hair and push-up bras. In 2006, The Guardian called out Pink for making a song as superficial as the women she was calling out in the track. However, "Stupid Girls"'s most brutal backlash came in later years. As the cultural and sociopolitical climates evolved, people started to feel like Pink was criticizing women for being feminine and expressing their sexualities.

Baby, if I act like that

Flippin' my blond hair back

Push up my bra like that

I don't wanna be a stupid girl

The song seemed like a statement that women who were more masculine and athletic were superior to "girly girls." Pink's "Stupid Girls" music video only made matters worse, as it featured several highly controversial scenes, like Pink mocking bulimia, recreating Paris Hilton's sex tape, and having a little girl choose a football over a Barbie doll. Society has always shamed femininity and suggested that if women want to be taken seriously, they need to take on more masculine traits.

The scene where the girl chooses the football over the Barbie doll only reiterates these ridiculous societal beliefs. The truth is, we need to be able to celebrate femininity too, and not shame women who feel naturally drawn to dolls and the color pink. It's understandable why a lot of reviews of "Stupid Girls" were negative and why people felt that it was actually an offensive song about women.

Some People Thought "Stupid Girls" Was Actually A Feminist Anthem

Pink's Song Received Positive For Standing Up Against Sexist Societal Standards

However, despite the negative reactions, "Stupid Girls" has also been considered a feminist anthem. The LA Times referred to Pink's song as a "hilarious feminist romp," and Rolling Stone praised some of its empowering lyrics. While Pink said a lot of controversial and offensive things in the song and did worse in the music video, the song isn't entirely bad. Pink raises concerns over women being hypersexualized and hypersexualizing themselves. She questions why women who were once encouraged to run for leadership positions have turned to being the hot girl in male music videos instead.

While the song's criticism is valid, Pink wasn't completely wrong in creating it.

She also condemns acting stupid for male attention and advocates for ambitious women who aren't afraid to stand against societal standards. While the song's criticism is valid, Pink wasn't completely wrong in creating it. Pink is singing about a very complex topic. On the one hand, society pressures women to behave the way the women in the song are behaving. On the other hand, women are not helpless and should not willingly participate in anything that causes them harm and promotes harmful stereotypes about women. This doesn't mean being feminine, expressing their sexuality, or favoring small dogs are bad things.

I'm so glad that I'll never fit in

That will never be me

Outcasts and girls with ambition

That's what I wanna see

However, as Pink sings about, acting dumb for attention is incredibly harmful and a slap in the face to all the women who worked so hard for women to have equal opportunities. "Stupid Girls" resonated deeply with other women who, like Pink, gravitated toward more masculine hobbies and felt it was unfair that society forced stereotypical girl things on them. At the time, being a "tomboy" was the counterculture, and "Stupid Girls," with all its flaws, made outcast women feel seen.

What The Song's Subjects Think Of It In Retrospect

Paris Hilton Felt Offended By The Song

During a 2017 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Pink itted that while Jessica Simpson never said anything about the song or video, Paris Hilton was upset with her. Hilton confronted Pink at a club, itting that she's not actually dumb, she just pretends to be. Pink responded, "That's kind of my point." In 2023, Paris Hilton released her memoir, Paris: The Memoir, where she spoke about the song again. Hilton was especially hurt by the music video mocking her sex tape, as the star was pressured by her older partner into making that tape as a young girl.

Her former partner also released it to the world without her consent. Hilton opens up in her memoir about how horrible the aftermath of its release was for her and her family. The hotel heiress felt upset that in "Stupid Girls," Pink praises outcasts and ambitious girls but doesn't consider her to be one of those girls. In later years, Hilton has proven herself to be incredibly intelligent and influential. She now focuses a lot of her time on ending abuse in the troubled teen industry, something she has experienced herself.

What Does Pink Think Of "Stupid Girls" Today?

Pink Has Grown A Lot Since 2006

Aside from Pink's WWHL appearance, the singer hasn't spoken much about "Stupid Girls" in later years. However, the song has not made the official setlist of any of Pink's tours since the second European leg of her 2009 Funhouse Tour. Whether Pink understands the criticism "Stupid Girls" received or if she just doesn't feel like singing the song anymore is a mystery. However, it's likely that since she's grown as a person and an artist, the song doesn't resonate anymore.

Pink remains proud of the unconventional woman she is, but that doesn't mean she's comfortable putting down women who aren't like her. Proof of Pink's growth came in 2023 when she changed the lyrics in "Don't Let Me Get Me" at her Summer Carnival Tour. After the Britney Spears conservatorship ended, the world's perspective on the star shifted, realizing how mistreated she'd been. Pink decided to change the lyrics "damn Britney Spears" to "sweet Britney Spears."

The switch showed a lot of growth, as Pink seemingly realized the girls who she was compared to were never the villains; the people making the comparisons were. As "Stupid Girls" nears its 20th anniversary, it remains a highly controversial Pink song, and society may never agree on whether it was empowering or harmful.