How Paris Hilton turned ‘pain and abuse’ into ‘the most meaningful thing’ of her life

Paris Hilton says the “pain and abuse” she faced in so-called behaviour camps as a teenager paved the way for her to find the “most meaningful work” of her life.

In 2020, the hotel heiress released a documentary, This Is Paris, detailing her treatment and that of other victims. The camp was known as a tough love camp in America.

The socialite revealed that four different youth facilities subjected her to “parent-sanctioned abduction”, “force-fed drugs”, and sexual abuse by staff.

The entrepreneur told Sky News that it was very difficult to speak.

“These places make you so ashamed that you don’t want to talk about it, think about it, or even think about it, and that’s a powerful stunner for abusers.”

“I didn’t know how the world would react to it, but it was such a wave of love that thousands of survivors were coming up to me on the street and saying, ‘Thank you so much for telling your story.'” No one believed me. “I haven’t talked to my family in years, and I know that this has impacted my entire life; now that you’ve shared your story, my family finally believes me.”

This experience showed me the power of being vulnerable and authentic, even when it is scary or painful; it demonstrated that if I can share my story, I can make a difference in other people’s lives and help them feel safe enough to share their own stories.

Since her documentary aired on YouTube, the 44-year-old has testified before Congress several times and has been a prominent advocate against the “troubled teen industry”.

“I’ve now changed 15 state laws and passed two federal bills to protect children so they don’t have to go through the pain and abuse that I and so many others have endured, and it’s the most meaningful work of my life. I’m very proud of that work.”

she says this advocacy work This has become a “big focus” for her and she wants to “keep fighting because it’s not just happening in the states; it’s happening all over the world”.

Hilton led the “It Girls” in 2000s Hollywood.

who included Kim Kardashian and Nicole Richie, and was one of the most photographed people of the time.

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Reflecting on her 20s, she describes the constant stories about her in the newspapers and what happened to her in treatment facilities built for “a very difficult and difficult time”

“Especially in the early 2000s, the media was extremely cruel towards me and other young women and I don’t think I ever gave myself credit for how much I survived that time because it was just too much.

“It was very painful…to constantly feel like I was being criticised, misunderstood and underestimated, and people were being very mean.”

She says the industry has “changed a lot since that time” and sees it as a positive that women in the spotlight now “don’t have to go through the things that I and some other women have to go through”.

Her new documentary film, Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir, takes a look at her life and career in the spotlight as she prepares to return with new music.

“It’s been so fun to look back at everything and see in my career how ahead of my time I’ve always been, even through fashion, through reality shows, through all of that, how many things there were that I did before and now seeing so many people inspired to this day.”

However, it had a profound impact on larger elements of the film There was a fire in LA last year in which his Malibu beach house was burnt to ashes.

It features Paris performing her songs on stage, including her 2006 debut single, Stars Are Blind.

Infinite Icons: A Visual Memoir is in theatres January 30.