Celebrity News June 11, 2007
Paris: 'I'm Not the Same Person I Was'
Paris Hilton is giving her first interview since being sent back to jail on Friday afternoon.
The jailbird heiress called Barbara Walters – on a payphone – and revealed all about her time in the Big House.
“I'm not the same person I was,” Paris told Barbara. “I know I can make the difference.”
It's a very different Paris from the one who was seen sobbing and shaking in the courtroom as the judge handed down the sentence.
She screamed “Mommy” and cried all the way down the hall, according to insiders.
But now Paris is more collected, and she's telling Barbara there was no such sobbing or screaming.
But Paris did say that during her first 3-day stint in the slammer, she wasn't eating or sleeping, revealing she was “severely depressed” and felt as if she “was in a cage.”
Now, sources say she wasn't eating because she was terrified of being photographed on the toilet!
But perhaps the biggest confession of all from Paris was that her public persona is just an act.
“I used to act dumb,” Paris admitted. “It was an act. And that act is no longer cute.”
Paris, 26, also said that she's “no longer that superficial girl,” adding, “I haven't looked in the mirror since I got here.”
“My spirit or soul did not like the way I was being seen,” she explained to Walters. “That's why I was sent to jail. But God has released me.”
“Extra” caught up with Paris' ex-boyfriend Stavros Niarchos and her sister Nicky as the two visited Paris in jail, getting the VIP treatment as they skipped past a long line of visitors.
Today, “Extra” has Nicky one-on-one, opening up about her sister's plight and taking aim at the tabloids.
“When they talk about my sister, I just think it's mean,” Nicky lamented.
“People have caught on to all the lies,” she said. “Everyone just makes things up. I don't believe anything I read.”
And the stars are speaking out to “Extra” on Paris' sticky situation.
“I will say this,” said comedian Tom Arnold. “She's raised a lot of money for charity. She's not just out partying.”
“King of Queens” star Leah Remini, however, is not so kind.
“I think it's ridiculous. We're at war. I'm sick of her,” she said. “I could vomit from it, really.”
Now, the mystery over Paris' mysterious “medical condition” may have been solved.
The folks over at TMZ.com are reporting that Paris is suffering from extreme ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and claustrophobia – and those conditions may have been what caused L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca to say she has severe “psychological problems.”