The David Letterman Interview That Made Paris Hilton Uncomfortable
Following the success of the documentary Framing Britney Spears, a lot of female public figures are looking back at how they were treated by the media in the early 2000s. Socialite Paris Hilton recently revisited a time in 2007 when she felt uncomfortable in an interview with David Letterman. She appeared on the late night show after a brief stint in jail for violating her DUI probation by driving with a suspended license, but she didn't want to talk about that. Hilton discussed this moment with her sister, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, on her podcast, This Is Paris, noting that despite her PR team telling Letterman that jail questions were off the table, it was the one topic he kept pushing her on over and over.
While Hilton's time in jail was a hot topic at the time, she said that she never expected the interview to take that turn, especially after she made it clear she was there to talk about her career. "I felt it was a safe place because I had been going on Letterman for so many years," Hilton shared. "I thought he would keep his word on this and I was wrong."
Letterman not only brought up her jail time, but it was the only thing he'd asked about for the majority of the interview. "I was just getting so uncomfortable and I was so upset," she said. He eventually changed the subject to the movie and perfume that Hilton was promoting, but the damage was done.
Paris Hilton was 'in tears' following a David Letterman interview
Businesswoman Paris Hilton recently recalled on her podcast, This is Paris, how a 2007 appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman left her "in tears, crying and shaking." Despite an agreement to not discuss her jail time, Letterman made it the main topic of the interview. While Hilton was visibly uncomfortable and kept trying to change the subject, Letterman didn't let up with his jail jokes until Hilton at one point said, "You're making me sad that I came. You're hurting my feelings."
The DJ remembers pleading with him off camera saying, "it was like he was purposely trying to humiliate me and during commercial breaks I would look at him like, please stop doing this, you promised me you wouldn't talk about this and that's the only reason I agreed to come on the show." She added, "he was like okay and then again [brought it up]."
After that appearance, the "Stars Are Blind" singer told Letterman that would be her last time she appeared on his show. Hilton explained, "It was very cruel and very mean. After it ended I looked at him and said I am never coming on this show again, that crossed the line." She added that she did not "tell him off" though because she's "not that type of person." Letterman must have eventually felt bad because according to Hilton, he apologized after and sent a case of wine to her home.
David Letterman 'felt horrible' and apologized to Paris Hilton
While a particular interview on the The Late Show With David Letterman upsets Paris Hilton to this day, the model did eventually return to the show several more times after she received multiple apologies from Letterman. The House of Wax actor explained on her podcast, "Finally, I said okay I'll come back on your show. I said okay and I forgave him."
Hilton said that her next appearances on the talk show were much better, with Letterman even giving her flowers and apologizing again when she returned in 2008. She explained, "He knew not to do that again. I think he felt bad, I heard a lot of people were getting angry they saw that, even back then. I'm so happy that it's different today." According to Us Weekly, on that next appearance Letterman told the The Simple Life star that he "felt horrible" for how he treated her and that he "wasn't there to make enemies." Hilton reportedly handled the apology with a sense of humor telling him, "I hope you got the whole jail thing out of your system."
While some media personalities are now apologizing to women they mistreated in the past thanks to Framing Britney Spears and social media, a rep for Letterman told TooFab that "they had nothing to add aside from that 2008 apology." Hopefully Hilton discussing it on her podcast will however help change how the media treats women.