Paris Hilton recalls being 'strangled, slapped across the face, watched in the shower': 'Haunts me to this day'

Paris Hilton has opened up about the abuse she went through at teen facilities in the US. She said that she was 'strangled, slapped across the face, watched in the shower' in these places.

Paris Hilton has recounted the abuse she faced for over two years at teen facilities across the US. She said that she was introduced to the 'troubled teen industry' at the age of 16. Paris visited the Capitol to meet lawmakers to advocate for the protection of youth in congregate care facilities.

Paris Hilton during a news conference outside the US Capitol.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference outside the Capitol, Paris Hilton said, "One night when I was 16 years old, I woke up to two large men entering my bedroom asking if I wanted to go the easy way or the hard way. Thinking I was being kidnapped, I screamed for my parents. As I was being physically dragged out of my house, I saw them crying in the hallway. They didn't come to my rescue that night. This was my introduction to the troubled teen industry. My parents were promised that tough love would fix me and that sending me across the country was the only way."

Paris Hilton continued, “I was sent to four facilities over a two-year period, and my experience at each one haunts me to this day. I was strangled, slapped across the face, watched in the shower by male staff, called vulgar names, forced to take medication without a diagnosis, not given a proper education, thrown into solitary confinement in a room, covered in scratch marks and smeared in blood and so much more."

Deadline quoted Paris Hilton as saying, “For 20 years, I couldn’t sleep at night, as memories of physical violence, feeling of loneliness, the loss of years rushed through my mind when I shut my eyes. This was not just insomnia. It was trauma."

Paris went public about her own experiences, as a teen, in a documentary about her life, This is Paris, released in 2020.

Congressional Democrats held a news conference with Paris to discuss child abuse and legislation to establish a bill of rights to protect children placed in congregate care facilities.