SALT LAKE CITY 鈥� Paris Hilton testified about abuse she says she suffered years ago at a boarding school in Utah, as she lobbied Monday for a bill seeking to regulate the state鈥檚 troubled teen industry.
Hilton was sent to Provo Canyon School for 11 months at age 17 where she says she was abused mentally and physically, recalling that staff members would beat her, force her to take unknown pills, watch her shower and send her to solitary confinement without clothes as punishment. The socialite and reality TV star also spoke about the abuse in a documentary titled 鈥淭his is Paris鈥� that was released this fall.
Hilton testified at a state Senate committee hearing at the Utah Capitol in
鈥淭alking about something so personal was and is still terrifying,鈥� Hilton told the committee. 鈥淏ut I can not go to sleep at night knowing that there are children that are experiencing the same abuse that I and so many others went through, and neither should you.鈥�
The 39-year-old Hilton said the treatment was so 鈥渢raumatizing鈥� that she has suffered nightmares and insomnia for years.
The Provo institution is now under new ownership and the administration has said it can鈥檛 comment on anything that came before the change, including Hilton鈥檚 time there. A statement on the school
Since the documentary was released, other celebrities have spoken out about their experiences at the school or others like it, including Michael Jackson鈥檚 daughter Paris Jackson and tattoo artist Kat Von D.
During her testimony, Hilton called on President Joe Biden and leaders in Congress to take action and said she intends to pursue federal legislation.
鈥淭his is just the first step,鈥� Hilton told reporters. 鈥淭his bill is going to definitely help a lot of children but there鈥檚 obviously more work to do, and I鈥檓 not going to stop until change happens.鈥�
___
Eppolito is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a
Sophia Eppolito, The Associated Press
