Alicia Silverstone has revealed everyone has been mispronouncing her name. Best known for her portrayal of Cher in the Amy Heckerling film Clueless, Silverstone remains an icon for a generation who continue to imitate her character's personal style. The film remains a cult classic with its huge cast of up-and-coming television and film stars, and paved the way for Silverstone to become a major mainstream actor.
Silverstone's earliest films played off of her stunning looks, where she portrayed the object of desire in The Crush and The Babysitter. She would go on to play Batgirl in the 1997 film Batman & Robin and follow that up with over 33 film appearances. Silverstone further enhanced her "it girl" status after being featured in the music videos for the Aerosmith classics "Cryin'" and "Amazing," which further broadened her fanbase. She is currently a main cast member of Netflix's The Baby-Sitters Club, in which she plays Kristy's mother, Elizabeth.
In a new TikTok video from Silverstone, the actress addresses the mispronunciation of her name. The video begins with another video of young woman asking the question, "Tell me what your name is and then tell me what people mispronounce it as." Alicia responds to the question by explaining how her first name is really pronounced, contrary to how it has been said throughout her career. Silverstone captioned the video, "Just an FYI... it’s Ali-SEE-yuh." The clip has racked up over 1 million likes and has received over 16,000 comments thus far. Check out the video (via Silverstone's Twitter) below:
Silverstone has been in the public eye for so long that it's surprising the error continues to this day. The actress has not formally addressed the matter until recently, with this TikTok meme offering her a way to correct the gaffe in a gentle and positive way. It will be interesting to see if the gentle reminder on how to properly pronounce her first name gains any traction or if people continue saying Alicia in the manner they have been throughout her career.
It might also be a good practice for other celebrities whose names are commonly mispronounced to jump on this viral trend, such as Amanda Seyfried (pronounced SIGH-fred), Lupita Nyong'o (LOO-pita Nee-yong-OH), Rachel Weisz (Ray-chul Vice), Isla Fisher (EYE-luh FISH-UR), Saoirse Ronan (SUR-sha Ro-nan) and surprisingly Demi Moore (Duh-MEE Mor). Then again, Silverstone's TikTok could also be seen as a reminder to not assume the pronunciation of a person's name, and that when given the chance, to ask for clarification. Silverstone doesn't explain why she waited until this TikTok to finally set the record straight, but now that she has, it'll hopefully lead more to pronounce it correctly and perhaps consider if they've been mispronouncing other names without realizing it.
Source: Alicia Silverstone