Aurora Starchild
Paris Hilton has been on a mission to be the hero she never had. The celebrity and entrepreneur shocked the world when she opened up about being abused while at boarding school as a child. But the abuse she’s endured didn’t stop there. In a new interview with Glamour UK, the 42-year-old media personality revealed that Harvey Weinstein once followed her into a bathroom when she was a teenager.
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Paris Hilton Reveals Two New Stories About Abuse She Endured as a Teen in New Glamour Interview
The Glamour interview begins by catching up the casual reader with revelations that Paris Hilton has shared in recent months. To start, her voice isn’t the high-pitched “damsel in distress” that we’re all used to hearing. She previously elaborated on this in a New York Times interactive article about systemic abuse in child rehabilitative facilities. In an attempt to escape from the harsh realities of the abuse she endured at Provo Canyon School, Paris found that she would fantasize about being a different person and was comforted in idealizing Barbies.
Following up on Meghan Markle’s podcast, Archetypes, Hilton spoke about how creating The Simple Life (her breakthrough role as an actress and one of the original reality shows) solidified the public’s perception of her as a “dumb blonde.” It was all an act, but it also was a point where Hilton bridged her past idealizations, a form of psychological safety net, with her “reality,” however unreal a reality show may be.
There Is a Lot More to Paris Than We Know
“I’m not a dumb blonde. I’m just very good at pretending to be one,” Hilton told Glamour. “I think I’ve just been through so many things that I’m a warrior, I’m a fighter, I’m brave. And I’m a badass.”
If being sexually, emotionally, and psychologically abused at boarding school, and then being painted as a “dumb blonde” amongst incessant paparazzi hounding and tabloid features, isn’t enough, Glamour reminds us that Paris Hilton also once had a sex tape leaked. But the genius businesswoman, estimated to have a net worth of around $300 million these days, has kept pressing on. She’s not just a wealthy hotel heiress, but a DJ, a multi-billion-dollar business owner, an advocate, and now a mother. As she continues to delve into the insanely misogynistic atmosphere that surrounded her in her youth, her success is nothing short of miraculous. But that’s not even the whole story.
Paris Hilton Was at Cannes When She Alleges Harvey Weinstein Followed Her
Paris told Glamour that she was once drugged and raped by an older man when she was just 15 years old. Shortly afterward, she was sent to Provo Canyon School for 11 months. The abuse gave her PTSD, and she had no way to process it.
“When I got out [from Provo Canyon School], I made a promise that I’m never going to talk about this again,” she told Glamour. “‘This did not happen, this is not part of my story, this is not who I am…’ I think that the reason they’ve got away with it for so long is because they instill that into the children, where you feel so ashamed — like you’re this bad person when they’re emotionally and psychologically torturing you to the point that you don’t even know who you are any more. It’s horrible that I held that shame in for so long.”
Paris Hilton Met Harvey Weinstein in 2000
The following year, Paris Hilton was at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. She was just 19. And for some reason, it was almost as if her past had made her a magnet for more harassment. Paris told Glamour that the incident with Harvey Weinstein came in two parts. First, they met at lunch.
“I was at lunch with my girlfriend, and he came up to the table and was like, ‘Oh, you want to be an actress?’ And I said, “Yeah, I really want to be in a movie,’” Hilton told Glamour. “I was a teenager, so I was impressed by him.” She added that she was a bit star-struck. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, Harvey Weinstein is so cool!’”
But then Weinstein suggested that he go to his room. “He said, ‘Well, we should have a meeting. You can come up to my room and read scripts’” Paris recalled. “And I just didn’t want to go, so I never went.”
Paris Hilton Says Harvey Weinstein Had to Be Carried Away By Security
That in itself is a red flag of course. One shouldn’t have to visit a strange man, no matter how famous, in their hotel room in order to audition. But Weinstein, according to Paris Hilton, continued to exhibit predatorial behaviors towards her. They saw each other again the following evening at the amfAR (The Foundation for Aids Research) gala, which he was hosting.
According to Hilton, Weinstein followed her into the women’s room yelling, “Ya wanna be a star?”
“I went into the bathroom and then he followed me,” Paris said. “He tried to open the door, he was hammering on the door, banging on it. And I wouldn’t open it, because I was like, ‘I’m in a stall, why do you want to come in here?’ And I just wouldn’t open it. And security came and literally carried him away and he was like [shouting], ‘This is my party,’ going nuts. It scared me and freaked me out.”
Harvey Weinstein Will Likely Remain in Prison for Duration of His Life After Rape Charges
Harvey Weinstein as many know is the primary face behind the #MeToo movement. The prestigious and powerful film producer created hundreds of films over the course of his nearly 40-year career. But behind the scenes, his conduct especially towards women was atrocious. After almost 80 women accused him of sexual misconduct in October 2017, he was arrested in New York and charged with multiple felony counts of rape. Found guilty of 2 of the 5 instances, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years of prison in 2020. The following year, he was tried in California for separate charges and found guilty of 3 of 7 additional counts. And additional sentence of 16 years now means he must sit in prison until at least 2059. Currently age 70, it is unlikely he will ever be a free man again.
Glamour asked Paris if she’d heard any stories about Weinstein at the time of the Cannes Festival incident. She said that his powerful reputation made everyone “terrified” of him.
“I didn’t even want to say anything about it because I was like, ‘I don’t want people getting mad at me for saying anything,’ because it was just a known thing,” said Paris. “He was just like that and people were like, ‘OK, just turn a blind eye.’”
Weinstein’s Spokesperson Denies the Bathroom Incident
Following the Glamour article, news spread back to Harvey Weinstein’s cell. He did not give a response to Glamour’s request for comment. However, his spokesperson gave one to Variety.
Calling Paris Hilton’s allegations false, Harvey Weinstein’s spokesperson said the producer had always treated her with “the utmost respect and kindness.”
“Unfortunately, Paris Hilton is trying to get in on the current news cycle using his name with yet another creative story,” said Weinstein’s spokesperson. “Too bad it’s all too convenient and seemingly popular to just say it without anything backing it up.”
Paris Hilton’s New Memoir Is Set to Come Out in March
For her part, Paris Hilton has fully disclosed that telling her story about abuse with the New York Times several months ago has been healing.
“To this day, I still suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and severe nightmares which have went away a lot more since I’ve been talking about it,” said Hilton. She added that her goal is to help make sweeping societal changes, particularly among young people, to ensure that systemic and secretive abuse does not continue.
Paris Hilton certainly isn’t done telling her story. Her memoir, Paris The Memoir, is set to release on March 14.
