
Paris Hilton has spoken openly about the intimate video that was released without her consent in 2004, emphasizing that what was treated as a scandal for the public was, for her, a severe form of abuse.
She delivered a speech on Capitol Hill on Thursday, January 22, accompanied by Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Laurel Lee, in support of the DEFIANCE Act, which was passed by the Senate last week.
This law aims to protect victims of sexual content created or manipulated with artificial intelligence, giving them the right to prosecute authors and distributors.
During the speech, Paris Hilton returned to one of the most painful periods of her life, stating:
"When I was 19, a private video of me was shared around the world without my consent. The world called it a scandal. It wasn't. It was abuse."
She emphasized that at the time there were no laws to protect her, nor terminology to describe what she had experienced:
"The Internet was still new, as was the cruelty that accompanied it."
Paris Hilton also spoke about the emotional consequences she experienced, emphasizing that she faced ridicule, labeling, and public humiliation:
"They called me names, laughed at me, and made fun of me. They sold my pain for clicks and then told me to shut up and move on. No one saw the panic, shame, and humiliation I felt."
She also clarified that she never benefited financially from the video, and donated the $400,000 she received as compensation from her ex-partner, Rick Salomon, who had published the intimate material, to charity.
At the end of her speech, Paris Hilton emphasized that today she feels stronger and free from feelings of shame:
"To tell the truth, it helped me heal. I am proud to stand here without shame."
She ended her speech with a strong message: "I am Paris Hilton, a woman, a wife, a mother, a survivor, and what happened to me was wrong. I will continue to speak out to protect every woman and every girl, now and in the future."
In her autobiographical book "Paris: The Memoir", published in 2024, Paris Hilton confessed that she felt pressured to allow the intimate video to be filmed, believing that it would remain private.
She admits that she consumed alcohol and tranquilizers to cope with the situation, and at the time the video was released, she had long since separated from Salomon.