To SCOTUS, Nicole Richie's Just 'a Person'

Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

The Supreme Court today handed down its decision in the Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., ruling against the FCC in a case over regulating nudity and expletives on television.

In the process of dealing with the complex yet broad guidelines of the FCC, the court inadvertently brought to light another equally perplexing and elusive question - "who is Nicole Richie and why is she famous?"

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy listed off various incidents involving profanity on television, saying, "Second, Fox broadcast the Billboard Music Awards again in 2003. There, a person named Nicole Richie made the following unscripted remark while presenting an award: 'Have you ever tried to get cow s*** out of a Prada purse? It's not so f***ing simple.'"

Want more off-the-cuff politics? Check out OTUS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @OTUSNews.

Richie, the adopted daughter of singer Lionel Richie, was just gaining notoriety in 2003 for her role as Paris Hilton's sidekick in the reality series, "The Simple Life." Yet Richie's on-again, off-again relationship with the Hilton hotel heiress was not enough to warrant any other title other than "person" from the court.

The court seemed to be familiar with Cher when discussing her fleeting expletive during a live TV performance, however, referring to her as a singer in the written opinion.

Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com