The name of Paris Hilton is once again linked, although involuntarily, to one of the darkest plots in the world of entertainment and the global financial elite: the network of abuses of Jeffrey Epstein.
More than of decades after having crossed paths with Ghislaine Maxwell At an event in New York, the businesswoman publicly recalled that scene that many media and witnesses have interpreted as an attempt to recruitment.
In a recent interview with The TimesHilton decided to respond to rumors that have been circulating for years and that were fueled by testimonies included in the docuseries Surviving Jeffrey Epstein.
Among them, a British composer was taken up who claimed that Maxwell had “watched” her with special interest when Hilton was around 19 years during the exclusive fashion parties of the late 90s and early 2000s.
The duo moved naturally in elite environments, where they built the network that the FBI would later investigate. Photo: Pinterest @okchicasEpstein, who already managed a network of contacts in New York, Miami and London, had a marked taste for very young womenoften minorsaccording to victims and prosecutors.
The weight of these meetings, trivial in appearance, is redefined in the light of what was discovered later: a system supported by Maxwell y Epstein that expanded through mansions in Palm Beach, New York and the private islands where, according to multiple complaints, crimes were committed. abuse for years.
Paris Hilton: “I am a perfect name to generate clicks”
To his 44 years, Paris Hilton He admitted that he barely remembers seeing Maxwell: «I don’t even remember meeting her. I’m a perfect name to generate clicks.»
The heiress, mother, businesswoman and pop culture icon said that she found out about these versions only when they began to circulate in the American media, especially after the premiere of the docuseries launched in 2020.
Hilton today combines business, fashion and her career as a DJ. Photo: Pinterest @abbyzx_/ IG @parishiltonChristopher Masoncomposer and frequent commentator of the New York elite, was the one who established the theory of the alleged recruitment attempt.
In the documentary production, he said that a friend of his had seen Maxwell identify Hilton at a party: “Who is that? She would be perfect for Jeffrey. Could you introduce her to us?”he would have said, according to his testimony.
Maxwell identified a young Hilton at a social event and asked about her. Photo: Pinterest @graziafrance / @LauraStayWicked
Epstein’s tastes and Maxwell’s role
Mason’s story coincides with what several victims later reported: Epstein had a marked preference for teenagers o youths recently reached adulthood, and Maxwell, according to US Justice, played an active role in recruiting «his girls.»
Hilton fit the profile Epstein was looking for, according to witnesses. Photo: Pinterest @maryrivers73mr / @abbyzx_Investigations revealed that the couple frequently traveled between New York, London and Paris where they attended events in search of new “candidates”; the latter being identified as another key point in its network, according to court records.
There, several young women assured that they were contacted through intermediaries close to the financier.
Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in the United States for sex trafficking and conspiracy. Photo: Netflix
Photos that read differently today
One of the most widespread images was taken on September 18, 2000 during a fashion show by the designer. Anand Jon in New York. It features Hilton, Maxwell and Donald Trump.
Paris Hilton with Donald and Ivanka Trump, old friends of the Hilton family since the 90s. Photo: Pinterest @peopleHilton insists there was nothing more than an encounter circumstantialsomething common in these types of events.
However, the testimonies linking Maxwell with an active search for young girls gave another nuance to the photographic record.
Over time, this scene became one more piece in the puzzle of names, parties and relationships that surrounded the financier.
From suspicion to the fall of the Epstein empire
Five years after that photo, Epstein began to be criminally investigated for sexual abuse of minors.
In 2008 reached a judicial agreement that allowed him to declare culpable of reduced charges: he spent 13 months in prison and avoided a federal trial, a detail that was later harshly criticized.
New leaks of emails and documents reactivated investigations into Epstein’s international network. Photo: APThe case resurfaced strongly in 2019when the financier was arrested again, this time accused of trafficking dozens of minors between 2002 and 2005 in New York and Florida.
He pleaded not guilty, but never came to trial: he was found dead in his cell a month later, in what was determined to be suicide.
