News / Entertainment
Paris tells about time in prison, Larry King says she is in denial
Larry King landed the highly sought after interview with Paris Hilton after her release from jail. In the interview she told about her experience behind bars and how it changed her. The hotel heiress was almost in tears as she read excerpts from the journal she kept while in prison.
"I've been through a lot, and it was a pretty traumatic experience; something I've really grown from. I've been confined for three and a half weeks in a little cell, so it's just overwhelming to be out and be free again," Hilton said.
She described the emotional experience of being freed saying it was "one of the happiest days of my life." "Just being in the fresh air, and looking up at the sky and the stars and being outside -- and then it was pretty much pandemonium -- and then as soon as I saw my mom, I just ran to her to give her a hug. So that was really exciting to me," Hilton told King.
As for her time in jail the "Simple Life" star said her strip-search was "the most humiliating experience of my life. It's pretty gross taking your clothes off in front of someone and having to do that." She also denied rumors that she was given special treatment. " I was treated like any other inmate, no better, no worse."
To pass the time Hilton said she read fan mail and books, wrote in her journal and meditated. She said there was no severe illness that plagued her behind bars. "People make up crazy stories. I've suffered from claustrophobia my entire life -- when I first got into that cell I was having severe panic attacks. I have ADD, so I take medication for that."
The 26-year-old socialite said the food was "jail slop......wasn't that tasty." Hilton said she "only lost a couple pounds."
Hilton was sentence to 45 days in prison after being caught driving with a suspended license. After three days at the Lynwood jail in Los Angeles she was released for undisclosed medical problems but was called back to the court by the judge and sent back to jail to serve the rest of her time. She told King she "was obviously very upset" after the judge ordered her back to jail and she said "I think the crime did not fit the punishment."
"I feel like God makes everything happen for a reason," Hilton said. "It gave me a time-out in life to figure out what was important. I have a new outlook on life."
Larry King seemed to think Paris was in denial. After the interview he to CNN's Paula Zahn "There's a kind of denial over having done anything wrong. She denies ever having used drugs, ever, she said the alcohol was .08 -- so I think she doesn't think she did anything wrong. She thinks she got a raw deal."
