Paris Hilton: ‘I’ve Been Judged Based on a Character I Created’

Getty Paris Hilton attends WCRF's "An Unforgettable Evening" at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on February 27, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.

Socialite Paris Hilton is baring her soul in a new documentary on YouTube called This Is Paris where the heiress opens up about the abuse she says she suffered as a teenager at the hands of student and staff at a boarding school in Provo, Utah. She also says that the “character” of Paris Hilton was a coping mechanism she developed because of her past trauma.

Hilton Was Reluctant to Participate In the Documentary

At the 2020 Television Critics Association winter press tour, Hilton said that at first, she had no interest in the documentary because she didn’t want to reveal who she is behind the persona she inhabits.

“When I first got approached about doing this documentary by [producer Aaron Saidman], I was very reluctant to do it,” said Hilton. “I didn’t really want to take the meeting, because I wasn’t ready to really show myself. So it was something very hard because in this film I really show who I truly am … I’ve been playing this character for so long. And now, even during this film, I really discovered a lot about myself and who I really am, and I wanted the world to see that there are a lot of misconceptions. I’ve been judged based on a character I created in the beginning of my career. And now I feel like it’s finally time that people see who the real Paris is.”

Hilton later added that The Simple Life was definitely an example of the character of Paris Hilton and that she was “in on the joke.”

“People thought that’s who I really was, so sometimes it is annoying that people assume that I am kind of that, you know, blonde airhead that I was playing on the show,” said Hilton. ” But I love proving people wrong and any time they meet me in real life they’re always very surprised.”

She also said this project was “a real film,” as opposed to before when she was “just playing that character again.”

“With this, I really just wanted to pull the curtain back, and show my real life, and talk about things that are very hard to talk about, and things that I’ve experienced in life that I’ve never discussed before,” Hilton added. “It was an amazing experience, but also very scary, even watching the film for the first time. I was like, ‘Oh my God — can we cut that out?’ I was kind of freaking out. But [the producers] have total control over the whole film, so everything is in there.”

She’s So Grateful Her Sister Nicky Participated In the Film

GettyParis Hilton and Nicky Hilton Rothchild attend The Women’s Cancer Research Fund’s An Unforgettable Evening 2020 at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on February 27, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.

Hilton also said that the person who knows her better than anyone is her sister, Nicky Hilton Rothchild. Hilton is incredibly grateful that her sister agreed to be in the film because she’s normally a very private person.

“My sister knows me better than anyone. She probably knows me better than I even know myself. And my sister is also someone who’s very private. She does not do interviews. She doesn’t really like being in the spotlight; we’re kind of opposite in that way,” said Hilton. “And she agreed to do this film because she wanted it to be something authentic and she knows the real story. And I’m so grateful that she was in this film because she really was so honest and raw and real with me.

“I don’t think I have anyone in my life that’s like that because there’s just so many “yes” people around, and Nicky actually always tells me the truth and just says things how they are. And in this film, she told me so many things that we have never even talked about before. So, I’m really just proud and happy that my sister was a part of this because she’s my best friend and my other half.”

Her Advice to Influencers Today Is Don’t Let Anyone Take Advantage of You

The film’s director, Alexandra Dean, said that she considers Hilton to be the “original influencer” and Hilton offered up some sage advice for anyone looking to get into that kind of work.

“My advice to anybody who wants to be in this industry is really to believe in yourself and work hard and surround yourself with people that you could trust, and not be taken advantage of,” said Hilton. “And, you know, starting off as a teenager and basically creating this kind of brand, and now I see today it’s kind of become like a formula where it’s created a new genre of celebrity, almost.

“So, I feel proud of it in that way. There are people that come up to me — a lot of people on YouTube, different influencers, saying that I really inspire them to be who they want to be. So, I want to be an inspiration to young women and men around the world that if you really believe in yourself, anything is possible, and you can build a brand. Especially with a platform like YouTube where there’s 2 billion users watching every single month, it’s a massive audience. And I’m excited to be part of the YouTube family and to be releasing my film with them.”

This Is Paris is out on YouTube now.

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