This post contains spoilers for Not Okay.
Cancel Danni Sanders. That’s what the world at large demands in Not Okay, a satire of internet scammers and influencer culture now streaming on Hulu. It’s also the phrase Zoey Deutch, who stars as Sanders and executive-produced the film, is sporting on a tank top during a recent Zoom.
“What do you think of my shirt?” she excitedly asks, lifting her earth-tone-colored sweater to reveal the merch. The shirt, which writer-director Quinn Shephard also owns, is modeled after a garment worn by Paris Hilton in the early aughts. The heiress went viral thanks to a Photoshopped version of the tank. In reality, it said: “Stop Being Desperate.” The fake version read “Stop Being Poor.”
Not Okay opens with Danni in the throes of cancellation after falsely claiming that she was present for deadly terrorist attacks in Paris. Shephard wanted to use a meme of Hilton wearing a “Cancel Danni Sanders” shirt in the film’s opening montage. To obtain legal clearance, Deutch sent a DM Hilton’s way.
Paris Hilton wearing the shirt in 2005.Christina Elliott
In return, she got not only Hilton’s permission but a “five-minute voice note” with her blessing. It was “the kindest, most generous…” Deutch begins. “Like, ‘Is there anything I can do for your movie? I’m so proud of you. That’s so funny.’ It was an iconic exchange.”
Then came the matter of delivering Hilton’s consent to the studio. “I had to screen-record…
