More Than A Decade In Paris: The History Of Paris Hilton's Infamous Sex Tape
March 23 2020, Updated 2:43 p.m. ET
Kim Kardashian, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, three of the names that come to mind when thinking of celebrity sex tapes. Kardashian recently claimed she was high on ecstasy while filming her infamous tape, and Hilton said she was "out of it" during hers.
MORE: PARIS WAS AWFUL PARTYING INFLUENCE, SAYS EX BOYFRIEND NICK CARTER
All three of their lives changed after their tapes were leaked and have become part of or helped create their legacy. For Hilton, it was leaked without her permission, and she fought hard to keep it away from the public. From the lawsuits, settlements, and night vision, here is everything you need to know about 1 Night In Paris.
Who Was Hilton Before The Sex Tape?
Hilton is a heiress and born into a multimillion dollar empire. Her family lived in Los Angeles, and she was raised in Beverly Hills until 1996 when they moved to New York. Friends claim that Paris was 13 years old when she started to party in Los Angeles and told people she was 22. After she moved to New York she was determined to have the same status she had in LA. She was always at the trendy parties in the right flashy and sexy dress to get the attention she wanted. And it worked.
Hilton started modeling in New York when she was a teen, but it was her lifestyle that began to get her noticed. She was dubbed “New York’s Leading It Girl” in 2001 and was a full-blown socialite. A New York Post article describing Hilton wrote, "The most outrageous New York City-based heiress is hotel-darling Paris Hilton, 19, a part-time model with a tendency to flash her thong.” Hilton’s fame spread outside of New York, and she made a cameo as herself in Zoolander in 2001. She was also doing fashion shows and gracing the covers of magazine around the world.
Hilton never had to worry about money, but she was always ready to make more. In November 2001 businessman George J. Maloof Jr. paid her to attend the Las Vegas opening of the Palms Casino Resort wearing a dress made out of 1 million dollars worth of poker chips.
Hilton continued to show up at events and parties in exchange for cash and created a new industry out of celebrity appearances. She dabbled in acting and had a straight to DVD horror film in 2002 called Nine Lives but her break out role wasn’t until 2003.
Hilton was best friends with Lionel Richie's daughter and fellow socialite Nicole Richie and the dynamic duo were often photographed looking thin and ready to party. The two filmed their reality show The Simple Life, and it was set to release in 2003.
Hilton was best friends with Nicole Richie filmed their reality show The Simple Life, and it was set to release in 2003. But three weeks before it premiered, bootleg clips of Hilton and Salomon were leaked to the public. For those who haven’t seen the tape, it features Hilton and her then boyfriend Rick Salomon, a tripod and night vision. The film was shot in 2001 but was released two years after their break up.
Who Is Rick Salomon?
DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.
Salomon is a poker player who has a thing for celebrity women. Aside from Hilton he has been linked to Shannon Doherty and had a nasty divorce from Anderson. After the tape was leaked Solomon and Hilton both lawyered up and sued each other as well as the company that released the tape.
The Morning After
After the tape was released, Hilton was catapulted to the front lines of celebrity scandals. Her family did everything they could do to try to stop the tape from spreading, but it was too late. Hilton said she was “out of it” during the video and didn’t know what she was doing. She insisted that she did not want the tape to be released and was affected by it mentally and emotionally.
Salomon sued Hilton in the amount of 10 million dollars for “defamation.” His court documents allege that her family tried to ruin his public image. He claimed they said she was underage to make the tape illegal and to accuse him of criminal behavior. While Salomon attempted to sue Hilton, she sued the company that released the tape, Kahatani, Ltd., for $30 million due to violation of privacy and emotional distress. The lawsuit was eventually thrown out of court.
The Not So Simple Life
The Simple Life premiered December 2, 2003 and had crazy successful ratings. Hilton played an air headed, dumb blonde along with Richie. The first episode had 13 million viewers and increased Fox’s adult ratings by 79 percent. It’s hard to deny that the success had nothing to do with all the attention she got from the leak. With the release of the sex tape and her reality show, Hilton went from bicoastal socialite to a world known celebrity. But just as she was starting to make a name for herself as a reality star, the tape came back to haunt to her.
In 2004 Salomon began to distribute the tape himself through an adult film company called Red Light Company District. He insists he had nothing to do with the bootleg and grainy clips that first surfaced but is proud of the 45 minute clear and crisp pay per view video that is available today. In a 2004 interview he explained, "I didn't think this tape was going to be this giant. This tape is worth way too much money. And it's a beautiful tape. Everyone's going to enjoy it, I think."
Hilton lawyered up again and sued Salomon and the company. They settled out of court. This time Hilton won, and not only did Salomon drop his lawsuit but according to the New York Daily News she received more than $400,000 plus a percentage of sales. Other outlets have reported that Hilton hasn’t earned any money from the tape, and she insists that she hasn’t either. In 2013 she told GQ magazine, "I never received a dime from the video. It's just dirty money and (Salomon) should give it all to some charity for the sexually abused or something.” It's believed that Salomon has made millions from the tape.
10 Years Later
Its been more than a decade, and 1 Night In Paris remains one of of the most infamous and successful celebrity sex tapes. Hilton has had her fair share of drama over the years, but her reputation is no greater than her sex tape. She attempted to restore her image and lifestyle after being arrested for drug possession in 2010.
She exclusively told RadarOnline that she quit the party scene in 2010 before starting community service. Hilton lay low for a few years and cleaned up her image. In 2013 she opened up about the sex tape in her new film The American Meme. She described the tape's release, "like being raped. It felt like I’ve lost part of my soul and been talked about in such cruel and mean ways.” "I literally wanted to die at some points. I was like, "I just don’t want to live." She continued, "Because I thought everything was taken away from me. I didn’t want to be known as that. I would never be who I could have been."
The tape will likely be on the internet for the rest of eternity, but Hilton was able to conquer the trauma and use it for her success. She paved the way for reality stars, is a highly paid DJ, produces television, runs international cosmetics and fashion lines, and has almost 10 million followers on Instagram. She's found love several times and was engaged to Chris Zylka in 2018 but the couple has reportedly split.