Let me preface this post by saying that I am an incredibly huge super fan of Hilary Duff. Anyone who’s known me for more than 5 minutes knows that. People who has ever come in remote contact with me is aware of this. People who are within a 25 mile can sense it. I mean, I’ve dragged my parents and sister outside of LA County to stand in line for hours to meet her, and I’ve skipped an entire day of classes (sorry, Mom) to go meet her a second time. If that’s not superfan enough, I don’t know what is.

All that being said, I don’t by any means think that she is the most perfect human being to ever walk this Earth – I don’t think that person exists, has ever existed, nor will ever exist. Admiring a person is one thing, but going so far as to call them “perfect” is another. More often than not, when people find out that I’m a Hilary Duff fan, a common response I get usually runs along the lines of “Oh yeah, I like her, too. She’s the only Disney star to not f*** up their life.” I never really know how to respond to that other than with a nervous laugh. I know people tell me these things, some of my friends included, to give off a good impression or to not get on my bad side. But here’s the truth: I am no more impressed by that comment than I am with your ability to do simple arithmetic.

I once read a comment that said, “I feel like the Hilary Duff in a sea of f***ed up Disney Channel stars.” While incredibly humorous, I think that statement is absolutely inaccurate and unfair to the other young talent that has come from Disney. The way I look at it, yes, some of these people have made mistakes. They do incredibly gutsy and scandalous things. But the only reason why these things are considered “scandalous” is that they are constantly under a microscope and are being scrutinized by the public constantly. The only difference with Hilary is that she’s more private about her life, and she isn’t the type of person to flaunt her life in the spotlight, or go out every single night. Every single one of these people are just living their lives just like you and I are. To say that Hilary is the “best” one out of all the Disney stars is like saying “that person is better at being herself than you are at being yourself.” See what I mean by saying it’s “unfair?”

Whenever Hilary is presented with the question regarding her lack of screw ups, she almost never knows how to respond to it (yes, I diligently watch/listen to all of her interviews that get released. All of them. Did I mention I’m a superfan?). Her response usually sums up to “I was too busy to get into trouble” or “I’ve screwed up too, I’m not perfect,” to which she follows up with how proud she is of the other talent that have succeeded her, and that she admires them for being able to come into their own and for learning how to be themselves despite being under the spotlight. You can sense how uncomfortable she gets when she is gets compared to her peers. I mean, wouldn’t you be too if you were shoved into a corner and told that out of all of your friends, you’re the one who screwed up the least?

So if you truly want to get my attention re: Hilary Duff, tell me about what movie of hers you like, what song is your favorite, or whatever else about her that grabs your eye. Do not compare her to any of the other “effed up” Disney stars, or tell me how much “better” she is than the majority of them. This is pitting them against each other in a contest that none of them have no desire to be a part of.

And with that, I see no other appropriate way to close this post than with this iconic scene:

Have a great week, everyone!