Nicole Richie, 5ft1in, climbs on coffee table to match 6ft9in Magic Johnson's height

Standing up to an icon! Nicole Richie, 5ft1in, climbs on coffee table to match 6ft9in Magic Johnson's height backstage at The Ellen Show

At 6ft9in, retired NBA player Magic Johnson is used to being one of the tallest people in the room.

So when he met 5ft1in Nicole Richie backstage at The Ellen DeGeneres Show, it made for a hilarious photo op of the tall-and-short duo.

But the petite 35-year-old TV star wasn't going to be bested by the 57-year-old sports legend. She got up on a coffee table to make up for the over one-foot distance between them. 

Upon climbing on the furniture in her flats, she appeared only about an inch taller than the basketball star who both crossed their arms for the pic.

Ellen shared the photo on her Instagram page with the caption, 'Did you know that if you add a coffee table to Nicole Richie, she's taller than Magic Johnson?'
Magic shared a more conventional photo of himself side-by-side with Richie from the same day on his Twitter.