Paris went to jail, but she didn’t expect what would happen next.
“She is a fucking bitch. I hate her,” Paris Hilton remarked in a huff backstage.
Who’s the bitch, you might ask?
The 2007 MTV Movie Awards would end up being Paris Hilton’s red carpet swan song, unbeknownst to the masses, as the widely-despised celebutante would quietly slip out of Gibson Amphitheatre before the evening was done to turn herself into authorities and begin serving a 45-day jail sentence - the world watching with eager eyes.
Prior to Paris’ May 4th sentencing, the heiress shamelessly roamed the Sunset Strip with a new man in her arm each week, but with an impending stint in the slammer, Tinseltown’s most infamous party girl opted for a surprisingly demure image, one evoking innocence… and a clean rap sheet.
For weeks, cameras stayed glued to hotel scion as she perused the aisles of Buddhist bookstores, thumbed through pages of The Secret, and attempted to find salvation in the eyes of the Lord - and pages of In Touch. But a giant penis always loomed by…
Seriously.
During her last week of freedom, Paris somberly participated in some Memorial Day festivities, but with her onetime club companions either holed away in a Malibu treatment facility or barfing in the Chateau lobby, the heiress was left to ring in her final fête with some old pals.
From House of Wax costar Elisha Cuthbert to equally-troubled BFF Brandon Davis, the star power appeared dim as Paris prepared to ditch Kitson for an orange jumpsuit, and Koi for mystery meat.
Also there to bid the socialite a farewell was childhood friend and partner-in-crime Nicole Richie, whose own DUI court date loomed amidst her pal’s troubles.
But the girls held a brave front for the X17 cameras, and braced to face the wrath of the law.
After Paris’ patriotic send-off, the jail-bound heiress continued to march down Melrose for her few remaining days of freedom. From last-minute prayer sessions at Bel Air Presbyterian to a grueling pre-pokey workout at Crunch Gym, Hilton appeared downcast as she readied herself for her day of reckoning.
The party girl’s final hours on the outside welcomed late nights at Parc and Les Deux with sister Nicky, and her boyfriend David Katzenberg.
And then the trio joined the rest of the Hilton clan for the family’s final supper at Mr. Chow, feasting on lobster, beef, and vegetable fried rice - and all forgetting to bring credit cards.
But a tab was the least of their worries.
The morning of June 3rd welcomed a brief visit with her trainer, and then Paris returned home to a crowd of shutterbugs - all eager to capture the heiress’ evening surrender.
After readying herself for the red carpet, Hilton dashed to Universal City to grace the cameras one last time - her only planned photo-op for the next month being a mugshot.
And then following Sarah Silverman’s public shaming, the socialite retreated to the green room with some pals and surveyed the buffet table as MTV staffers snapped pictures. After receiving some well wishes from Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul, the scorned starlet moseyed over to the bar, briefly bopped to Your Body Is A Wonderland and then crept out the back door just before the clock struck 7PM - a surprisingly quiet exit for a girl who’d built an empire on noise.
In the minutes leading up to midnight, TMZ caught Hilton as she was chauffeured by lawyer Richard Hutton to Twin Towers Correctional Facility for booking, later to be transferred to Lynwood’s Century Regional Detention Facility - Mama Kathy right by her side.
And by the next morning, word had spread across America that Paris Hilton had gone from the world’s most photographed heiress to Inmate No. 9818783.
While some mourned the temporary loss of Hilton’s often-nauseating public presence, the majority of the human species cheered.
From the Post…
… to The View:
And even Madame Tussauds:
Hollywood and beyond celebrated the tabloid fixture’s incarceration.
Paris? Not so much.
While conflicting reports surfaced about whether or not the heiress was subject to a cavity search, spreading her legs was only the beginning of Hilton’s turmoil.
After surrendering her possessions and changing into uniform, the socialite was escorted by two sergeants to a tiny cell, her hands shackled behind her back and her hair tied in a scrunchie made from an elastic sock.
While Hilton was described as being “cooperative and calm” by L.A. County Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore, reports quickly claimed otherwise.
“She cries all day. She looks unwashed, she has no makeup, and her hair is tangled,” a source told People. Meanwhile TMZ simply described the party girl as “not happy,” but a “polite and gracious” prisoner nonetheless.
When she wasn’t stowed away in solitary confinement 23 out of the 24 hours a day due to her celebrity status, Paris was allotted the remaining hour to “be in the module, take a shower and talk on the phone” - but even that was unsettling for the heiress.
Despite pre-pokey reports of jail gangs and inmate threats, Hilton was met with a surprisingly different attitude from those around her. One story claimed inmates struck up a “Paris!” chant as the heiress returned to her cell one afternoon, while others slipped magazine clippings, drawing books, and even an origami butterfly - telling her: “You don’t deserve to be here.”
The support, however, failed to console Paris.
By day two, an even bleaker image surfaced of the socialite’s incarceration: “Paris is scared.”
Gossip sites claimed the heiress turned away meals and was left sleepless due to the bright lights and noise echoing throughout her space. “Paris says her cell is ‘freezing cold.’ She has three little blankets and no pillow,” TMZ claimed. Meanwhile, X17 described Hilton as “afraid for her security” - despite a five-guard entourage assigned specifically to her.
While family visiting hours were saved for the weekend, Paris was allowed a Monday meeting with her lawyer, and a Tuesday pow wow with psychiatrist Dr. Charles Sophy - who aided Hilton family friend Michael Jackson in his child molestation case years prior.
While the subject of Tuesday’s meeting remains a mystery, it would set the groundwork for Hollywood’s most high-octane legal drama in years.
On the evening of June 6th, X17 reported that Paris was already prepping her big exit, three days after starting her sentence… and they were right.
By the following morning, the L.A. Sheriff’s Department confirmed that blonde justice had prevailed and Hilton was now a semi-free woman, swapping a cell at Lynwood for house arrest in the Hollywood Hills:
The heiress issued this statement to the press via her attorney:
“I want to thank the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and staff of the Century Regional Detention Center for treating me fairly and professionally. I am going to serve the remaining 40 days of my sentence. I have learned a great deal from this ordeal and hope that others have learned from my mistakes.“
But one question loomed in America’s mind: Why?
As word spread of Hilton’s supposed medical emergency, the online rumor mill churned up everything from claustrophobia to drug withdrawals - and even a stress-induced herpes flare up! But TMZ soon ended the nationwide speculation by reporting that Paris’ urgent condition… had been entirely in her head.
After Tuesday’s two-hour meeting, Dr. Sophy passed word to L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca that his patient was on ”the verge of a nervous breakdown“ - and Baca bought it.
Shortly after 2AM on June 7th, the heiress was fitted with an electronic monitoring device and escorted back to her party pad on North Kings Road, ordered to serve out the remainder of her sentence from the comfort of her four-bedroom, three-bath estate above the Sunset Strip… but there was one issue.
In Hilton’s sentencing the month prior, Judge Michael T. Sauer made one thing very clear in his order:
Whoops!
A media circus formed almost instantaneously outside La Casa Hilton, with a mob of photographers, fans and infuriated neighbors waving the heiress down.
As television choppers swirled, cars pulled up one by one, unloading the select few privileged enough to visit the ankle-monitor clad socialite, back in her habitat.
Parents Kathy and Rick Hilton were amongst the first to pay their firstborn a visit:
Alongside Paris’ sister Nicky, and aunt Kyle Richards:
But family was far from the only ones excited about the celebutante’s return. In-N-Out, who yanked Hilton into this mess to begin with, delivered some Double-Doubles, Mrs. Beasley’s Cupcakes sent their favorite client some desserts, and others shipped lavish flower bouquets - all eager for Tinseltown’s top blonde to return to her throne.
Passerby Janice Dickinson cheered her pal on from the comfort of her car:
Meanwhile, family friend Faye Resnick paid the heiress an afternoon visit:
Even Vanity Fair’s Dominick Dunne hitched it up to the hills, taking a breather from the ongoing Phil Spector trial to observe the Hilton hullabaloo:
But Dunne wasn’t the blonde’s most surprising supporter, Don Kingphoned TMZ offices in the hours after Paris’ release to tell the gossip site Hilton’s newfound freedom’s ”what America is all about“ - even labeling the heiress a ”heroine.“
The rest of America didn’t seem to agree.
As Parisdemonium occurred on the ground, rage spread throughout the nation’s airwaves, with wall-to-wall coverage tearing the blonde’s escape into shreds.
Lawyers, anchors, and just about anyone who was camera-ready contributed their two cents to the socialite’s sweet deal.
Al Sharpton slammed Sheriff Baca for slipping Paris a get-out-of-jail-free card:
Meanwhile, Gloria Allred called a press conference for one of her own clients, a former Lynwood inmate whose own medical issues were denied Hilton’s special treatment:
And as the media commotion intensified, a legal tug-of-war brewed behind the scenes.
After catching wind of Paris’ release, the president of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs criticized Baca for his seemingly preferential treatment of the blonde, and further reports noted that the sheriff had a curious history of celebrity slip-ups - Mel Gibson, anyone?
And in even more eyebrow-raising details, Baca - whose high-power buddy list includes names such as Rupert Murdoch - had accepted a sizable campaign donation the previous year from William Barron Hilton - Paris’ grandfather.
It’s almost like the rich and famous have their own rules, huh?
While a powerful combination of celebrity and corruption had already spun a catastrophe out of the starlet’s legal troubles, what happened next would shock just about everybody - especially Paris.
After waking up to news of the socialite’s release, L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo was far from pleased.
In a move that would push the media firestorm into explosive territory, the attorney filed a motion asking Judge Sauer to hold an immediate hearing about Hilton’s release, and Baca’s disobeying of his orders.
The judge agreed, scheduling a courtroom showdown for 9AM the following morning, setting the 24/7 Hilton news cycle ablaze with a new question: Is she going back?
As the sun set, visitors continued to waltz in and out of Paris’ pad, giving X17 cameramen updates on the ex-jailbird’s condition.
Amongst the late-night pack included the Hilton family’s cosmetic surgeon Dr. Steven Hoefflin, whose wealthy resume ranges from the Jackson family to the Donald, Ivana and their nip-and-tucked spawn.
But as the sun rose over Tinseltown, the party came to a crashing halt.
As the morning’s legal appointment loomed, rumors swirled about whether or not the socialite would have to face the judge herself, or attend the hearing via telephone.
As the clock ticked, all eyes and cameras rested on a Spanish-style mansion, tucked away in the Hollywood Hills.
While back and forth raged on in the judge’s chambers between Sauer and the Sheriff’s Department - who believed they had sole jurisdiction in monitoring the heiress - the 9AM court date trickled by… and the media circus outside Paris’ front door only grew.
Finally, an hour later, Judge Sauer signed an order:
Translation: Bring her ass to court.
As photographers clamored for a shot of the drunk-driving reality star, now at the center of America’s most-publicized legal saga, a Sheriff’s cruiser sped up Kings Road - and the next shot to emerge of Paris would make front pages nationwide.
Hilton, who’d only been released a day earlier, was now confronted with deputies at her front door.
As the heiress sobbed, she gave her mother one last hug, and was led away.
Helicopters, photographers, and camera crews mobbed the socialite’s gates, but the country’s first clear glimpse of Paris would come in the back of a police car - and like they’d never seen her before.
Cameramen chased the cruiser for a shot of the sobbing starlet, now on her way to face the judge that had sentenced her a month earlier.
In a fairytale-like moment, Paris sped into the California sunshine… but her destination was far from pleasant.
As Hilton was escorted to downtown Los Angeles, choppers chased the Sheriff’s vehicle in a televised saga reminiscent of a certain white Bronco.
Two hours after the scheduled hearing, Paris was finally led into Metropolitan Courthouse through a private entrance - seated front and center, her legal team and parents watching from the sidelines.
And as Judge Sauer berated Sheriff Baca, the heiress, makeup-free and outfitted in gray sweatpants, continued to bawl. Onlookers described her as shaking uncontrollably, and for the first time since her premature release: seeming ill.
As the hearing crept by, the starlet turned to her parents to mouth, ”I love you“ - and then a decision was reached. Shortly after noon, the judge read Hilton a verdict.
She’s going back to jail.
The already distraught socialite burst into hysterics and suddenly began to scream: ”It’s not right!“ As a female deputy dragged her out of the courtroom, a cuffed Paris cried out to the audience: ”Mom!“
In less than 48 hours, Paris Hilton had gone from inmate, to free woman, to a jailbird once more - and the world watched with bated breath.
As a broken down Paris was tossed in the back of a police cruiser, the frenzy surrounding the blonde’s troubles reached unimaginable new heights, with friends, foes, and former Vice Presidents all weighing in on the saga.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin attacked America’s celebrity obsession during a chat with FOX:
Dan Rather also dissed the ”dumbing down“ and ”tarting up“ of news - spearheaded by Hilton:
And Al Gore even slammed the circus for overshadowing more pressing issues - like global warming:
”The G8 have been meeting in Germany and the United States is throwing a monkey wrench in the efforts to get a consensus. The planet is in distress and all of the attention is on Paris Hilton. We have to ask ourselves what is going on here?“
Meanwhile, Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski tried to burn the story altogether:
A group calling themselves Citizens For A Better America launched a ’Go Away Paris’ campaign:
And a little ditty to go with it:
Even O.J. Simpson had a few words for the celebrity legal drama, the up-and-coming If I Did It author labeling the incessant Hilton coverage ”fake“ news:
”When Paris Hilton was going to jail last week, more people knew about that than knew that we were sending people into space that day.“
But it wasn’t just the big names slamming Hilton, Paris’ neighbors were also pretty pissed at the ruckus the troubled blonde had brought to their neighborhood - distributing flyers in hopes of giving the probation-violating heiress the boot:
And they weren’t alone, even Paris’ talent agency was sick of her! Endeavor, who’d represented the Simple Life star since 2005, announced after Hilton’s sentencing that she was ”no longer a client“ - reportedly at the behest of one of the company’s top earners: Jessica Alba.
In spite of the towering backlash, though, the socialite still had a few pals in her corner.
Flavor Flav gave the heiress some love outside Mr. Chow… but didn’t show the same for President Bush.
Kim Kardashian told TMZ that it’s all, like, so unfair:
And playmate-turned-photographer Jennifer Rovero also penned a Paris defense for the website:
Stern Show regular Melrose Larry held a one-man protest to free the starlet:
Meanwhile, the cast of the fifth and final season of The Simple Life championed their costar’s plight - led by Oscar-nominee Sally Kirkland:
Although it probably had something to do with this email from their boss:
Even Tinseltown’s resident florists and bakers showed their love!
And some car dealership in New Jersey?
But the sparse support couldn’t cheer up ol’ Paris.
Instead of returning to Lynwood, the newly-sentenced starlet was taken to Twin Towers - the very place she’d turned herself in the previous Sunday - to be evaluated at the facility’s medical ward.
While online games gave a lighthearted impression of the socialite’s incarceration…
… the reality was far worse.
Less than a day after her arrival, TMZ described Hilton as ”teetering on the brink.“
As her lawyer drafted an appeal, the heiress sobbed and prayed in a locked-down medical ward, left alone with just a guard at the door.
From ”despondent“ to a straight-up ”train wreck,“ a tragic image surfaced of the stunned socialite - who hadn’t eaten or slept since her surprise hearing.
Despite a two-hour visit from Dr. Sophy, Paris was still reported as ”deteriorating“ by Sheriff Baca, who claimed in a press conference that the starlet had begun speaking incoherently and was placed under constant surveillance - authorities fearing a suicide attempt.
And as the world cheered - or jeered - a terrified Hilton refused to leave her room, in fear that a picture would be taken of her on the toilet and wind up on the Internet moments later.
It wouldn’t be until the evening of June 9th that the heiress would break her silence, issuing this statement to the press:
”Today I told my attorneys not to appeal the judge’s decision. While I greatly appreciate the Sheriff’s concern for my health and welfare, after meeting with doctors I intend to serve my time as ordered by the judge.
This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. During the past several days, I have had a lot of time to reflect and have already learned a bitter, but important lesson from this experience.
As I have said before, I hope others will learn from my mistake. I have also had time to read the mail from my fans. I very much appreciate all of their good wishes and hope they will keep their letters coming.
I must also say that I was shocked to see all of the attention devoted to the amount of time I would spend in jail for what I had done by the media, public and city officials. I would hope going forward that the public and the media will focus on more important things, like the men and women serving our country in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world.“
And the following day, Paris’ apparent change of heart continued in an impromptu phone call with family friend Barbara Walters.
The View’s top dog claimed the jailbird felt like an entirely new person, and told Walters that she no longer felt the need to ”act dumb“ - rather, Paris was ready to make a difference in the world.
And later that afternoon, Hilton received her first family visit since the beginning of her jail saga a week prior, spending a half hour with sister Nicky and ex-boyfriend Stavros Niarchos:
But it wasn’t until the following Tuesday that parents Rick and Kathy would have an opportunity to talk to their daughter from behind the glass.
Despite being able to skip the three-hour visitor wait, the two were only allotted a brief 30 minutes to chat with Paris:
Father-daughter time wasn’t all that Rick had in mind, though. Sources told Page Six that while his spawn’s condition was finally starting to improve, Papa Hilton was eagerly shopping a ”Get Out Of Jail“ bash for his little girl to Vegas’ top hotspots - from Pure to the Palms, but his price tag was too high.
And the following day, Paris would run into more bad news: she’s going back to Lynwood.
Shortly after 11PM on June 13th, the heiress ditched Twin Towers’ medical ward with a parting ”Pray for me,“ before being shackled and shipped back to the place where it all began.
Century Regional’s staff was far from pleased to re-welcome the heiress, though, reportedly losing out on all cell phone and iPod privileges while Paris is an inmate - but round two would work out nicer for Hilton, who’d finally begun to get her appetite back:
And started dedicating her free-time to reading self-help books - and writing fans!
Paris’ manager was even called to the jail to pick up a whopping 20 crates of fan mail for the starlet - and amongst those receiving a special letter was TMZ head Harvey Levin:
As week two rolled by, Paris spent a little more time with Nicky and David:
Briefly chatted with buddy and Jericho star Ashley Scott:
And celebrated a special jail-set Father’s Day with her parents…
… all the while a pirate begged for her immediate release:
But Hilton wouldn’t have to tough it out for much longer. As the heiress finally got into the swing of things, word spread that she’d be eligible for release as early as June 25th - and the excitement wasn’t lost on the inmate.
In a phone call with Ryan Seacrest, Paris expressed her glee at her soon-to-be walk of freedom, and also shared her hopes in building a ”transitional home“ to help fellow jailbirds once they’re on the outside, but until then, the world was left wondering:
Will she really be released that soon? If so, will she follow through with any of her promises? And who’ll score the coveted first post-pokey sitdown?
Only time will tell… (Or Google, since this all happened 10 years ago - but my recaps are way more fun, right?)
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