Paris Hilton claimed staff at Provo Canyon School in Utah forcibly “performed cervical exams” on her and other students.
“Very late at night, like around 3 or 4 in the morning, they brought me and other girls into this room and did medical exams,” Hilton, 41, claimed in a New York Times article published Tuesday became.
She further claimed that it “wasn’t even with a doctor” but “it was a bunch of different employees who would put us on the table and put their fingers inside us.”
As her voice shook during the video interview, the socialite continued, “And I don’t know what they were doing, but it definitely wasn’t a doctor. And it was really scary, and it’s something that I’ve been hiding from for really many years.”
She continued, “But it comes back all the time now and I think about it. And now, looking back as an adult, that was definitely sexual abuse.”
Hilton claimed several female students were subjected to this abuse.Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Im
Provo Canyon officials did not immediately respond to comment.
The “Simple Life” star also described her horrific experience on twitterShe wrote that she was “forced to lie on a padded table,” spread her legs, and had a “cervical spine exam.”
“I cried while they held me and said, ‘No!’ They just said, ‘Shut up. Be calm. Stop fighting or you’re going to Obs’,” Hilton wrote, adding, “It’s important to open up about these painful moments so I can heal and help end this abuse.”
Hilton has had a history of speaking out about her time at the controversial boarding school and has publicly advocated for reform of the types of facilities Hilton attended.
Hilton was sent to Provo by her parents when she was 16 after she was deemed too rebellious.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
When she was 16, Rick and Kathy Hilton sent their eldest daughter to Provo Canyon School in Utah because of her rebellious nature. She was there for 11 months before being brought back home.
In 2020, the Stars Are Blind artist released the documentary The Is Paris, which paints a bigger picture of her troubled youth and traumatic experience at boarding school.
“I knew it was going to be worse than anywhere else,” Paris said of the Utah school, adding, “It was supposed to be a school, but [classes] were not in focus at all. From the moment I woke up until I went to bed, screaming in my face, yelling at me, was constant torture all day.”
Paris spoke of her struggles at school along with three of her former classmates, who confirmed the heiress’ allegations of abuse. The now-successful businesswoman shared in the documentary that the participants were force-fed drugs, restrained by shackles as punishment and sometimes thrown in solitary confinement for up to “20 hours a day.”
“I had panic attacks and cried every day,” she added. “I was just so unhappy. I felt like a prisoner and hated life,” she said.
The seemingly hellish experience Paris had at school ended when she turned 18 in 1999, and she returned to New York, refusing to speak out about her experiences until recent years.
“I was so grateful to be out of there, I didn’t even want to bring it up anymore. It was just something I was ashamed of and didn’t want to talk about.”
The “House of Wax” actress joined forces with Unsilenced.org and Breaking Code Silence in May to call for federal action against these facilities and spoke to 200 other survivors in Washington, DC.
Paris has been working with lawmakers to enforce legislation including the Troubled Teen Industry Law – SB127 – which came into effect in 2021. The bill was intended to provide increased state oversight of Utah’s youth hostels.
In May, she visited Washington with lawmakers to support the Federal Accountability for Congregate Care Act, which would further investigate alleged abuse at these facilities and create a Bill of Rights for youth in Congregate Care.
Even today, Paris and other survivors are calling for change.