In 2004, a s * x tape featuring Paris Hilton was released and the heiress’ world was turned upside down – the celeb has since gone on to admit that it sent her into depression Paris Hilton was the victim of a s * x tape scandal back in the early 2000s after her ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon released a short video showing the socialite engaging in a s * xual act.

In the years that followed, Paris faced scrutiny from the media and critics after the highly publicised video circulated and the celeb was left totally traumatised by the whole ordeal. Since then, Hilton has spoken out against Salomon and shared her side of the story, most recently in her tell-all memoir Paris: The Memoir.

Find out more about how the leak affected Paris, her life, career and the way her family saw her as they tried to sort “damage control” amid the widely reported scandal that almost tore the heiress apart.

‘One Night In Paris’

Back in 2004, a pornographic video was released under this title which was filmed predominantly in night vision. In the clip, Paris engaged in s * xual activity with former flame Rick Salomon and the film was never intended for public release.

It made headlines as Paris’ iconic series The Simple Life had only just aired when the video began to spread, which meant it gained a lot of media attention. Hilton was understandably upset by the release and has since spoken out, saying that she was “out of it” throughout the film’s duration.

Due to this, Salomon sued the reality star for defamation but Paris countersued over the tape’s release – eventually the issue was settled outside of court. According to reports, Paris received $40,000 and gave a percentage to charity.

Backlash

Hilton has given some heartbreaking interviews about how the tape’s distribution affected her. Back in 2006, she told British GQ that she “never received a dime from the video” and that the profits were “dirty money,” which Salomon should “give to some charity for the s * xually abused or something”.

While speaking to Vanity Fair back in 2021, Paris said she was “humiliated” and the tape is something that will “hurt her for the rest of her life”. Hilton explained: “When it happened, people were so mean about it to me. The way that I was spoken about on nightly talk shows and the media, to see things with my family was just heartbreaking. I would be in tears every single day, I didn’t want to leave my house. I felt like my life was over.”

Paris Speaks Out

Almost 20 years after the tape’s initial release, Paris wrote her memoir and touched upon the topic. Throughout the book, she only ever referred to her ex-boyfriend as “Scum” and says that she “doesn’t remember much about the night”.

Hilton revealed that she drank alcohol and consumed quaaludes, a recreational drug, prior to recording the tape. She said: “He had often said it was something he did with other women, but I felt weird and uncomfortable about it. I always told him: ‘I can’t, it’s too embarrassing’.”

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Feeling The Pressure

Paris said that she felt “pressured” by her former partner and thought that “being dumped by this grown man” because she was a “stupid kid who didn’t know how to play grown up games” was the “worst thing she could think of”.

Paris Hilton was the victim of a s * x tape scandal back in the early 2000s after her ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon released a short video showing the socialite engaging in a s * xual act.

In the years that followed, Paris faced scrutiny from the media and critics after the highly publicised video circulated and the celeb was left totally traumatised by the whole ordeal. Since then, Hilton has spoken out against Salomon and shared her side of the story, most recently in her tell-all memoir Paris: The Memoir.

Find out more about how the leak affected Paris, her life, career and the way her family saw her as they tried to sort “damage control” amid the widely reported scandal that almost tore the heiress apart.

The Aftermath

In her memoir, Hilton also admitted that she “felt like her life was over” and that due to the leak, “the career she envisioned was no longer possible”. She continued: “Everything I wanted my brand to be, the trust and respect I was trying to rebuild with my parents, the sliver of self worth I’d been able to recover. All that was instantly in ruins.”

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Parent’s Reaction

Paris recalled how her parents took the news – her mother “just crumpled into bed” while her father was “red-faced and furious” while “calling lawyers” to “try and help her marshal any hope of damage control”. Her brothers Barron and Conrad were “plenty old enough to understand what it all meant” and her siblings were “so weirded out they could hardly look at her”.

(Image: FilmMagic)

Questioning Her s * xuality

Throughout the 2000s and beyond, Paris became known for her s * x symbol status.

The blonde bombshell was synonymous with short skirts, sparkles and a sassy attitude which made her a hit with both girls and boys alike. However, behind the scenes was not all that it seems – at one point, the heiress began questioning her s * xuality.

In 2023, Hilton told Harper’s Bazaar that she was “terrified” of her link to the promiscuous title and even gave herself a nickname that teased her nature

Happy Ending

She told the publication: “I was known as a s * x symbol, but anything s * xual terrified me. I called myself the ‘kissing bandit’ because I only liked to make out. A lot of my relationships didn’t work out because of that [….] It wasn’t until Carter [Reum] that I finally am not that way. I enjoy hooking up with my husband!”

In a sweet quip about her partner in crime, Hilton said that “after the hell she’s been through” she “finally has what she deserves,” which is “someone she can trust and build a real life with”.

(Image: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for LACMA)