That’s not hot.
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie reunited with the Leding family from Season 1 of “The Simple Life” while filming their new Peacock reboot, but sources tell Page Six exclusively that the Arkansans would not appear on camera unless they got a staggering payment.
We hear Hilton and Richie, both 43, took a 1,500-mile flight on a private jet from Los Angeles to the rural town of Altus in early August for a scheduled “Paris & Nicole: The Encore” shoot with the Ledings, only for the family to give them a last-minute ultimatum.
“They refused to film and tried to demand $1 million from production,” one source claims.
Peacock had no comment. Reps for Hilton and Richie did not respond to Page Six nor did Albert and Janet Leding or their sons, Justin, Cayne and Braxton.
In Episode 1 of “The Encore,” which premiered Thursday, a producer informed Hilton and Richie while they were en route to Arkansas that the Ledings would be “happy” to see them, but they could not “bring the cameras in.”
The producer did not explain why, though Richie was quick to defend the family’s privacy, telling Hilton aboard their jet, “It is a lot with, like, cameras in your face. Regardless of that, I do just want to see them.”
The reality stars’ time in the Natural State was not a total bust, though, as they shot scenes with Altus Mayor Veronica Post and some of their old bosses from “The Simple Life.”
The first season of the iconic show, which aired from 2003 to 2004 on Fox, saw Hilton and Richie move in with the Leding family for a month and take low-paying jobs at a dairy farm and a fast-food restaurant.
As recently as last year, Hilton revealed she had still kept in touch with Braxton, who was only 4 years old when he appeared on “The Simple Life.”
“The little boy, he’s a lawyer now, and we’ve been in contact. He’s so sweet,” she said on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” in March 2023.
All three episodes of “Paris & Nicole: The Encore” are now streaming on Peacock.
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