It was written by Amy Lee in 1999 about the promotion of unrealistic and hyper-sexualized ideals of perfection in the music industry, with detrimental influence on the youth's expectations and self-image.

Guitarist Ben Moody and David Hodges also share songwriting credits on the song, which was produced by Dave Fortman.

The accompanying music video was directed by Philipp Stölzl, and features Lee portraying several characters depicting behind the scenes struggles and perfected, glamorous images promoted on screen.

Lee wrote "Everybody's Fool" about the lie of pop stardom life and unrealistic, over-sexualized images that warped the youth's expectations.

[1][2][3] In a 2004 VH1 interview, Lee explained how the song came about: "My little sister was really getting into these, I don't want to offend anyone, but like really fake, cheesy, slutty female cracker-box idols, and it really pissed me off.

[6] When asked about the song in 2016, Lee said that she wrote it as "an angsty teenager" about her "frustration with fakeness" that sprung at the time from all the "bubblegum pop acts" that were "put together like products" influencing young people, including her younger siblings.

Scott Juba of The Trades graded the song an A, writing that it depicts "the stinging betrayal of deception and the refusal to become blinded by deceit any longer", and a "defiance" in Lee's voice gives it a "bold edge" while its "heavy drums and soaring guitars further enhance the strong sound.

"[16] MTV News' Joe D'Angelo said that the lyrics "rail against idealistic, media-constructed images" and Lee's "disembodied" voice in the song "resonates".

[17] The video features Lee in different characters, including a wholesome teenager, a biker chick, a pop idol, and a glamorous spokesmodel.

The scenes end with Lee "contemplating her deeds on the verge of tears", and she "realizes that besides the products, her advertisements were also selling negative self-images".

[17] The Montreal Gazette's Jordan Zivitz said it is "both an effective statement on impossible ideals of beauty (scenes in which the haggard singer rages in a dingy apartment are contrasted with fake commercials in which she's made up to the nines), and a great satire on picture-perfect videos", while Lee's portrayal has "a ring of truth to it" as she "doesn't have much love for the widely embraced model of human perfection.

The song was made available to download on April 3, 2012, for play in Rock Band 3 Basic and PRO mode utilizing real guitar/bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits/keyboards plus vocal harmonies.