Hilary Duff at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2003

Happy holidays from Gossip Time

Hello and welcome to Gossip Time, a weekly guide to the stars by Allie Jones. I’m off this week for the holiday, but I wanted to share a special moment in history from the patron saint of this newsletter, Hilary Duff.

Below, you’ll find Hilary Duff lip-synching her smash hit “So Yesterday” on the American Malt Shop float sponsored by Amica Insurance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2003. As Today co-host Katie Couric notes in the video, Amica was using this platform to promote “safe teen driving” and “alcohol-free post-prom parties.” I’m sure Duff, who was 16 at the time of this performance, was in favor of both.

What’s your favorite part of the video? I’m torn between Duff’s choice to wear a beret and the moment when Couric asks, “Who’s that cute little girl?” about the eight-year-old who was stealing focus in the foreground the whole time.

Duff never again appeared in the parade after 2003, though she was scheduled to perform in 2014 while promoting her comeback album Breathe In. Breathe Out. She canceled the day before with this tweet:

Hilary Duff @HilaryDuff

I thought I was free for the Thanksgiving Parade but turns out with filming the TV show and mom duty my schedule just doesn't work! :(

Heartbreaking. Maybe one day we’ll see her at the malt shop again. In the meantime, happy Thanksgiving, and I’ll see you next week.