Paris Hilton, the American socialite and media figure, has told a congressional panel looking into strengthening child welfare protections that she was “force-fed medications and sexually abused by staff” while she was institutionalized as a teenager. Hilton, an outspoken advocate for better protections for children in youth facilities, told the House committee on ways and means on Wednesday that she had been “violently restrained and dragged down hallways, stripped naked and thrown into solitary confinement”.
The 43-year-old has previously described how she was subjected to “a parent-approved kidnapping” at four different youth facilities as her parents searched for solutions to her rebellious behavior and “fell for the misleading marketing of the troubled teen industry”.
She has characterized the “tough love” teen course-correction business as a $50bn industry that includes therapeutic boarding schools, military-style boot camps, juvenile justice facilities and behavior-modification programs.
On Wednesday, June 25, the reality TV star said she found her institutional experience “isolating and traumatic” and that she had been prevented from alerting her parents to what was happening because phone calls were monitored.
“It’s really difficult to tell anyone in the outside world. A lot of these kids are not believed because these places tell the parents they’re being lied to and manipulated because they want to go home,” Hilton told the panel.
Hilton has also called on lawmakers to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse act, designed to strengthen oversight of residential youth programs; supports the re-authorization of Title IV-B of the Social Security Act; and is an advocate for a “Bill of Rights” for children in youth facilities.
The Provo Canyon school, one of the institutions Hilton attended, previously responded to Hilton’s accusations saying it was under different management and “therefore cannot comment on the operations or student experience prior to that time”.
“What we can say is that the school provides a structured environment, teaching life skills, providing behavioral health therapy, and continuing education for youth who come to us with pre-existing and complex emotional, behavioral and psychiatric needs,” the school said.
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Paris Hilton testifies to US Congress about childhood abuse
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Paris Hilton says she had an ‘inappropriate’ relationship with 8th grade teacher
Paris Hilton looks back on her past in her new memoir — and not everything brings back good memories. In Paris: The Memoir, the 42-year-old heiress reflects on an inappropriate relationship she had with her eighth grade teacher at Catholic school. She reminisces about how “all the girls in my class were crushing on this handsome young teacher” who had a “very Abercrombie” look.
“Everyone loved him, including the nuns,” Hilton writes. It turns out this teacher reciprocated the attraction, telling her: “I’ve got a crush on you.”
“He made me feel noticed in an important, grown-up way,” Hilton writes. “He flattered and teased me and said that all the other girls were talking about me behind my back because they were jealous.”
The teacher then asked her for her number and “cautioned me not to tell anyone.”
Hilton writes that the teacher then called her almost every night “and we talked for hours about how amazingly mature, beautiful, and intelligent I was, how sensual, misunderstood, and special.”
According to Hilton, her teacher often asked if her parents were home and one night when they weren’t, he decided to come over. “I saw a late-model SUV idling at the top of the driveway,” she writes. “I climbed into the passenger seat. Teacher pulled me into his arms and kissed me.” The “Stars Are Blind” singer remembers the kiss continuing “for what seemed like a long time and seemed to be evolving into something more” — until her parents came home and saw Hilton and her teacher in the driveway. He tried to drive away, blaming Hilton for his behavior. She recalls him saying, “My life is over. What am I doing? Why did you make me do this?”
He eventually dropped her back at home, where Hilton tried to play dumb with her parents about what they saw — but it didn’t work. After the school year ended, Kathy and Rick sent their teen daughter to live with her grandma in Palm Springs, California. -
Paris Hilton is now mom to a baby boy
Socialite and entrepreneur Paris Hilton, 41, has welcomed her first child with her husband Carter Reum. The diva took to Instagram to share the joyous life update. She posted an adorable picture featuring her newborn son and wrote, “You are already loved beyond words.”
In the picture, Hilton is seen holding her little baby’s tiny hands.
The social media mogul confirmed the arrival of her baby son to People magazine and said, ”It’s always been my dream to be a mother and I’m so happy that Carter and I found each other. We are so excited to start our family together and our hearts are exploding with love for our baby boy.” Soon after she shared the Instagram post, it was flooded with congratulatory messages. Kim Kardashian also took to the comments section and expressed joy. “So happy for you guys,” she wrote. The new mom, however, did not share any further details about the birth of their first child. Several media reports suggest that the baby boy has been born via surrogate. Paris Hilton has previously opened up about the couple’s plan to have a baby. In an interview in December, she revealed that she and Reum began the IVF process during Covid-19.