Paris Hilton is opening up about how the “misogynistic” media culture of the 2000s turned her into a constant “target” for tabloids.
In a new i-D cover story, the entrepreneur and media icon reflected on how she built her public persona, which she described as both “a ticket to financial freedom and a safe place to hide.”
“My sexy clothes, music, videos—the whole Carl’s Jr. burger-eating routine—that was my way of reclaiming a healthy sexuality that had been robbed from me,” Hilton explained.
Still, despite the glitz and glamour that defined her late teens and early 20s, Hilton remembered the relentless scrutiny she faced in the press. She recalled the harsh coverage of her and her peers like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, noting one infamous headline that labeled them as the “Bimbo Summit.”
“During the 2000s, the media was so misogynistic—they would target certain girls, and there was a small group of us that they would constantly berate and abuse,” Paris Hilton said.
“It was extremely difficult to grow up in that way, having those few people who controlled the media control our storylines,” she added. “Now, what I love about social media is that people can actually find out from the source, and that I can write my own story.”
While promoting her three-part special Paris & Nicole: The Encore with Nicole Richie last year, Hilton also told Glamour about the “vile stuff” once written about her.
“There would be a lot of nights I’d cry and I’d call my mom. I’d be like, ‘This is not even true,'” the mother of two revealed. “But it also made me so strong where after a while, I just realized these are people who don’t even know me. They’re just making stories up.”
She continued, “The people who love and know me know the truth. And you just have to try to ignore it. So that’s why I feel the girls today are so lucky that that doesn’t happen anymore. It’s very, very traumatizing to have to live through.”
