Paris Hilton on Larry King Live

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 09:17:33 PM EST
Tags: Paris Hilton (all tags)

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Paris Hilton was on Larry King Live for the entire hour tonight describing her three weeks in jail. She exhibited both grace and humility. She seemed genuine to me. There was no self-pity.

She's clearly struggling to find herself and seems determined to have something positive come out of the experience.

I doubt it's easy for anyone to go in front of millions of people and describe her fears and psychological disabilities or to describe something as humilitating as being strip-searched.

Interesting: Paris denies ever taking illegal drugs. She says she doesn't have a drinking problem. She has ADD and takes Adderall. Her parents don't support her financially, she describes herself as a businesswoman with her own successful businesses.

I'm sure there will be a million comments on the internet in the wake of tonight's interview tearing her down. I give Paris a lot of credit.

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Paris Hilton on Larry King Live | 35 comments (35 topical)

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I didn't watch it (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by Edger on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 09:57:32 PM EST

But if she came across as you describe, with grace, humility and no self pity, I'm impressed. And have to admit I was a jerk last week - I said that I thought she would be a spoiled brat who would whine and cry about how hard done by she was by a couple of weeks locked up. And I said it knowing almost nothing about her.

Apparently Paris is a better and stronger person than I gave her credit for, and I'm somewhat less than I gave myself credit for. Definitely room for improvement.

I can't help it! (5.00 / 1) (#7)
by desertwind on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:35:12 PM EST

I've always liked the girl. She's one smart cookie and I like her clothes! It's shallow of me, but we all need a bit of a holiday from the important stuff, don't we?

Jeralyn, have you followed any of the LA City Attorney brouhaha? Soon after he brayed for Paris' head on a pike, the LA Times revealed: his wife has a outstanding traffic warrant; she crashed a city car; she's got a business but no business license; his staff babysits for him. Etc. Woof.

Yes, I've written about him a few times (none / 0) (#8)
by Jeralyn on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:50:07 PM EST

See here and here.

I think the city attorney's conduct raises serious questions of fairness and hypocrisy in the LA County justice system.


: Judge Manzaneras (none / 0) (#10)
by magster on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:31:59 PM EST

After what happened in Denver, prosecutors and the press (and us voyeurs) need to understand that this is not a game, and that "even" Paris Hilton is entitled to a little compassion.

I know you're here for the defense (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Rich on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:08:10 PM EST

regardless of whether people are rich or poor, but the sooner this woman is out of the media, the better. It's time to focus on something other than self-indulgent celebrities convicted of rather petty crimes.

how about (none / 0) (#1)
by yetimonk on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 09:56:50 PM EST

a touching story of someone suffering the slings and arrows of the justice system that doesn't have the money or resources to defend themselves? Someone for whom the justice system is truely unfair and who is not famous.

my above comment (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by yetimonk on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:01:59 PM EST

is unfair. It's just that paris appologetics tick me off. She has massive resources to take care of herself whereas others living at subsistance levels are devastated and left in crippling debt in order to defend themselves or else get rolled by a public defender.


Now you are being unfair (none / 0) (#5)
by Jeralyn on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:09:54 PM EST

to public defenders.


: well... (none / 0) (#6)
by yetimonk on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:33:21 PM EST

I lived in Denver for 10 years and at times purposefully hired people coming out of the justice system in order to give them a break. Dealing with the parole system alone was draconian, at times making it nearly impossible to employ the person, and I never heard of a happy experience with a PD, although it must happen occasionally. The attorneys I knew told me that a PD was equivalent to a guilty plea. The only time I saw actual justice was when I employed someone for enough money that they could scrape together the money to retain a real attorney and fight back after the fact.
The stuff I heard (from attorneys) about Eagle county made me not even want to even pull over for gas let alone go skiing there. IMO, truely equal protection under the law only exists if you have a large bundle of spare cash, and Paris has every means necessary to guarantee her the best outcomes.
Our paying attention to her plight is just icing on the cupcake for her.

: There are all kinds of PDs and (none / 0) (#21)
by JSN on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 07:58:18 AM EST

if they are overloaded they are under stress and the client who is also under stress will probably will be unhappy with the outcome.
The courts are so overloaded that much of the processing is done with paper (or electronic file transfers) and the client sits in jail waiting for someone to tell them what happened. If you don't like your PD that means you will sit in jail longer until your new PD gets up to speed on your case and a slot opens up in the court docket.
Do defense attorneys, PDs, prosecutors and judges screw up? They all do on occasion that is why we have appellate courts. I have a lot of respect for PDs they are good people who live by choice in a lawyers version of hell.

: re resources (none / 0) (#22)
by zaitztheunconvicted on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 10:07:58 AM EST

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that most counties give a lot more resources to the DA than to their PD system. Even on a per capita/case basis, their lots more money given to the prosecution.
Now, if someone works for the defense in the PD system, isn't it a matter of public service for which one is poorly compensated and overworked?
And, if one is a DA or assistant DA, they call it "public service," for which one is quite well paid and well-staffed?
And, these DAs and ADAs commit misconduct of various kinds, lying in court and at times misrepresenting the law. Little or no consequence comes to them, unless the case makes media attention. Then, they just move to another county and set up shop as a DA or ADA there. It seems corrupt and evil.

I Am All For Paris (none / 0) (#3)
by squeaky on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:01:37 PM EST

Getting media attention all day. That's if she uses her power to help the people rather than the corporations and the super rich.

We'll see

Much ado about nothing (none / 0) (#11)
by Al on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:42:30 PM EST

According to the BBC,

Veteran interviewer Larry King later described Hilton's performance as "puzzling and perplexing", and said she was in denial about her crime.

This whole affair began because she pleaded no contest to reckless driving charges being under the influence of "an alcoholic beverage and a drug", and then violated the terms of her probation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think she has expressed any remorse for any of this.

I couldn't care less about Ms. Hilton's spiritual growth. What I want to know is, are other people safe when she is out driving.

She expressed a lot of remorse for (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by Jeralyn on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 01:09:55 AM EST

her alcohol related offense, said she will never drink and drive again, and may help out MADD. It's the driving under suspension she isn't copping to because her lawyer told her after 30 days she could drive to work and that's what she did those two times. Also, it's clear she was sentenced more severely than others who had duis and then drove under suspension. There were no alcohol allegations in her two d.u.s. stops. She said she would not violate her probation again. She learned from this.

No one was hurt through her driving. The City Attorney's wife got in an accident driving on a suspended license without insurance. I'd be more afraid of her.


: MADD? (none / 0) (#15)
by 1980Ford on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 01:44:30 AM EST

Oh, no, there's no saint like a reformed sinner, as Machiavelli said.
MADD got so extreme its founder quit and speaks out against it. I hope Paris does a little research first.

: Bad Advice From... A Publicist (none / 0) (#23)
by expertlaw on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 10:26:35 AM EST

Paris said that it was her publicist who supposedly gave her permission to drive on a suspended license, not her lawyer.

: To be fair (none / 0) (#25)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 11:27:29 AM EST

she's responsible for knowing whether or not she's allowed to drive, not some hired-hand.
And, if her story is true, you'd think after the first time her hired-hand told her she could drive and subsequently she got stopped and nailed for driving on a suspended license she would have wised up.
Lastly, I'm no fan of Delgadillo or his wife, but if you think ol' Paris hasn't been in any accidents, think again....

"no drugs" (none / 0) (#12)
by LizDexic on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 12:58:48 AM EST

"She has ADD and takes Adderall."

Adderall = Speed

Adderall does not have a speed effect (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by Jeralyn on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 01:17:34 AM EST

on ADD patients. It slows them down and allows them to concentrate and focus. It works on the norepinephrine. Most ADD patients don't even lose weight taking it. It's so safe they give it to children. It's adults without ADD the Government doesn't trust with it because they will abuse it for the speed effect.


They give adderall to kids..... (none / 0) (#19)
by kdog on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 06:44:43 AM EST

but I wouldn't exactly call it safe. I swear it turned a buddy of mine scatterbrained after spending his grammar school years on the stuff, per doctor's orders.

You can get a buzz off it, not that there is anything wrong with that.

And aren't there pictures out there of her smoking doobies? Nothing wrong with that either, but why claim to have never used drugs? Odd.

I'm a little disapointed...looks like she is going for cookie-cutter "reformed", saying what people want to hear. I was hoping for a new, radical Paris.


Wasn't dexedrine used (none / 0) (#32)
by Edger on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 02:44:54 PM EST

for 'hyperactive' kids originally?


: Good point.... (none / 0) (#34)
by kdog on Fri Jun 29, 2007 at 09:56:37 AM EST

I don't know what kinds dope they put my friend on...I shouldn't have said Adderall specifically.

Paris Hilton's Drug Use (none / 0) (#28)
by expertlaw on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 01:01:05 PM EST

The claim that she has never used illegal drugs? Simply not believable.

But even if we ignore the evidence of illicit drug use, there's a question of the abuse of legal drugs. Rush Limbaugh may be able to make the same claim, more credibly. It's a bit like Clinton's denial of breaking the drug laws of this country, of Bush's time-limited denials - the limited nature of the denial tells you the rest of the story.

Hilton's on-again, off-again party friends, such as Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, have serious substance abuse problems. Mischa Barton has had incidents of public intoxication. Another erstwhile friend, Nichole Richey is reported to have abused Adderall - do you suppose her prescriptions were also for ADHD?

In the controvercial early days of her jail sentence, Hilton displayed characteristics consistent with Xanax withdrawal. Video and photographic evidence aside, Hilton's reputation was not of being the girl who said "no" as her friends indulged.

I am routinely frustrated by our society's penchant to demonize illicit drug use, but minimize or ignore prescription drug abuse. I do not want to demonize Hilton in relation to her "party lifestyle". It would be better for her, though, and for others who emulate that lifestyle if she would be honest about her drug use and its effect on her and her family.


FOX & Friends v TalkLeft (none / 0) (#16)
by robrecht on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 05:42:50 AM EST

Hillarious dramatization of the interview on FOX & Friends this morning. No attacks or judgemental rhetoric but funny. They just read the script with some attempt at impressions.

Will I get banned from TalkLeft for watching FOX?

two quick points (none / 0) (#17)
by lawstudent on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 06:01:42 AM EST

1 - for someone who thinks paris's sentence was too harsh, and someone who, i'm guessing, doesn't put a lot of stock in prison's rehabilitative effects, it seems that all the positives you are pulling out from "the new paris" are a direct result of both her harsh sentence and the power of prison.

2 - what exactly do you mean by her parents don't support her financially? as in, for the past year? as in, she has a trust fund, but they don't give her a credit card to go out to clubs? paris is a far cry from self-sufficient. she may be getting there with her own fame (famous for what again? that sex tape?), but her parents put her on the map and i would guess, in some way still support her.

Pilgrim's Progress Revisited (none / 0) (#20)
by robrecht on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 06:49:05 AM EST

"what exactly do you mean by her parents don't support her financially?"

That was just one of Paris' talking points she introduced.

As for prison's rehabilitative effects, Paris indicated that the thing she'd most like to change about herself is that her voice is sometimes too high pitched when she gets excited.


Paris: The new commercial for prison (none / 0) (#24)
by 1980Ford on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 10:38:44 AM EST

You're exactly right, but there is more to it. From a psychological and sociological perspective, Paris was gang stalked into fascism. There is much more to this than her sentence. It speaks to the entire law and order/social control spirit of the times. Thou shalt conform to every social norm down to the smallest detail, and thou shalt become the social ideal, and thou shalt not question or criticize or thou is a whiner.

Was she wrong for breaking the law? Of course, and drunk driving can be dangerous, but gang stalking fascism is much more dangerous. Is it any wonder we have the highest per capita prison population in the world?

Like with Iraq and Gitmo, anyone who questions it is a traitor.


According to CNN this AM (none / 0) (#26)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 11:29:43 AM EST

2 - what exactly do you mean by her parents don't support her financially?

She earned, on her own, about $7,000,000 last year. I suppose I could learn to live on that...


fair enough (none / 0) (#29)
by lawstudent on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 01:07:52 PM EST

7 mil would be nice!

but i think it's fair to say that she would not have earned anywhere close to that if it weren't for her parents. and this is more than parents with connections getting her a job. she became famous for being famous...the most pathetic form. and now she is getting paid for it. not for her talents. not for her business-sense. just for walking ass-backwards into a pile of money because we as americans (talkleft included, apparently) eat this crap up...


: No argument from me. (none / 0) (#30)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 01:16:23 PM EST

Media priorities (none / 0) (#18)
by robrecht on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 06:41:01 AM EST

CNN was counting down the minutes and seconds to their interview with Paris Hilton. During an intense interview with Bill Cosby about violence in inner cities, Wolf Blitzer abrubptly stopped Cosby in mid-sentence to show live coverage of Paris Hilton arriving in her limo for her interview with Larry King.

Paris and drugs (none / 0) (#27)
by bronco214 on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 12:14:27 PM EST

Paris seems to be like alot of politicians who also forget that video doesn't forget. Her denial of drug use is refuted by the clips that can be seen at "The Smoking Gun."

paris who? (none / 0) (#31)
by cpinva on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 02:25:54 PM EST

wasn't he one of the trojan brother's fighting achilles?

but serially folks, who cares? i have wars, taxes, my kid's college education, etc. on my plate. why waste valuable time, time i'll never recover, on some spoiled brat rich kid (sorry, i calls 'em as i sees 'em), who's famous for being famous because of her family?

were her name suzie jones, she'd be flipping burgers. at least anna nicole smith had to prove she had sex with an old guy to get her money.

ty, ty! i'm available for weddings, barmitzvas and bris. i'll be here all week folks! be nice to your waitress.

sounds like.... (none / 0) (#33)
by chemoelectric on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 05:03:11 PM EST

Sounds like the occasion has done her some good, though she'll need to re-examine that alcohol-problem claim, if it is true that she has driven drunk; you don't have to be like Barney Gumble to have a problem.

I hope she sees a psychiatrist rather than a non-specialist for the ADD.

Between acting and modeling and whatnot, I presume she makes plenty of income herself, I don't think she has a problem in that regard.

If she pulled in 7 million dollars a year... (none / 0) (#35)
by Ernesto Del Mundo on Fri Jun 29, 2007 at 08:49:05 PM EST

this country is every bit as hopeless as I thought.