Paris Hilton says the sex tape scandal that erupted more than two decades ago is something she believes will follow her for the rest of her life, as she reflects publicly on the trauma in a new documentary set to premiere later this month, as reported by Fox News.

Hilton, now 44, speaks candidly about the experience in Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir, a film that chronicles her personal and professional journey while following her preparations for her first full-length concert at the Hollywood Palladium.

The documentary comes after the release of her 2024 album, Infinite Icon, and revisits a defining and painful chapter from her early adulthood.

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The hotel heiress, fragrance designer, DJ, and mother of two told Fox News Digital that music became a lifeline after an intimate recording with her then-boyfriend, Rick Salomon, was leaked without her consent.

According to the documentary, Hilton was 19 years old when the tape was filmed in 2001.

“I had been through a lot in my life, but then to be publicly humiliated in such a way with someone who I loved and trusted … I had no idea that anyone would ever even see this,” Hilton said.

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“It was just humiliating,” she continued.

“I didn’t want to leave my house. I felt the whole world was looking at it, laughing and villainizing me. I was a young girl who had come out of a very traumatizing place and met the wrong person who could do something like that to me.”

Hilton said the emotional impact has never fully faded.

Paris Hilton dünyayı ayağa kaldıran seks kasetinin perde arkasıyla ilgili ilk kez konuştu!

Henüz 19 yaşındayken yer aldığı görüntüler, Hilton otellerinin varisini dünya çapında üne kavuşturmuştu.

Hilton otellerinin varisi, cinsel ilişkilerini kayda almak için o dönemki erkek… pic.twitter.com/fElediWGg6

— 23 DERECE (@yirmiucderece) October 15, 2023

“It’s something that will affect me for the rest of my life,” she admitted.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever fully be healed from that. It’s something that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

The leak surfaced in 2003 while Hilton was in Australia promoting The Simple Life alongside Nicole Richie.

Hilton recalled initially believing the report was false until her manager sent her footage from the tape, which later circulated in full.

“He was the first guy that I met when I got out of Provo [Canyon School] at a club in New York,” Hilton said in the film. “I was so in love with him. He was … my life. And I would have done anything for him.”

Hilton said Salomon proposed recording the tape and claimed it was something he did with other girlfriends.

She said she initially refused and described herself at the time as “not sexual at all,” but eventually relented after he pressured her.

“That was one of the most painful experiences I’ve been through,” Hilton said of the aftermath. “I was so terrified. Is this going to ruin everything I worked so hard for?”

Following the tape’s release, Hilton became a frequent target of ridicule and parody. She said it shattered her self-image and sense of identity.

“I’d always looked up to people like Princess Diana and Grace Kelly,” Hilton said. “And I felt when he did that to me, I could never be like these women… in my mind, I thought my life was over.”

Hilton has consistently denied releasing the tape for publicity and previously addressed the incident in her 2023 memoir, referring to her ex as “Scum.” In the documentary, she does not name him directly.

“I hope by telling my story, it could make other girls not get into that same position,” Hilton said. “Because, unfortunately, it’s very hard to trust people.”

Hilton said her family urged her not to give the scandal “oxygen,” prompting her to push forward professionally. She said recording music helped her cope and regain control.

Since then, Hilton has built a global business empire. She married entrepreneur Carter Reum in 2021, welcomed son Phoenix in January 2023, and daughter London in November 2023 via surrogacy.

According to estimates cited by The Times of London, consumers have spent $4 billion on her branded products over the past decade, and her business is valued at $1 billion.

“Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir” premieres Jan. 30.

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