Is Paris Hilton a Role Model for Girls?
By Ercan Ersoy,
Reuters
Posted: 2008-03-28 07:57:44
ISTANBUL, March 27 (March 28) - Paris Hilton, the celebrity
and hotel heiress who spent a stint in jail last year, said on
Thursday she sees herself as a role model for young women as
she prepared to judge a contest to crown Miss Turkey.
Hilton, who will sit on a jury to select Miss Turkey 2008,
said she valued not only beauty but also "good heart" when
looking at the contestants' attributes.

** FILE ** Actress Paris Hilton poses on the press line at a party honoring Timbaland sponsored by Verizon Wireless and People magazine in Los Angeles in this Feb. 8, 2008, file photo. NBC is pumping up the return of "My Name is Earl" with a guest shot by Paris Hilton. Hilton appears as herself in a dream sequence. Earl has been knocked unconscious and various things from his life and imagination are bleeding into his fevered mind, NBC said. Her appearance will come in the one-hour episode on April 3 that is the first new material following the writers strike settlement. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, file)
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LONDON - MARCH 04: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) A model walks down the runway wearing a dress donated by Paris Hilton during the '27 Dresses' Celebrity Dress Auction fashion show in aid of The Lavender Trust at Sketch on March 4, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images)
Getty Images

LONDON - MARCH 04: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) A model walks down the runway wearing a dress donated by Paris Hilton during the '27 Dresses' Celebrity Dress Auction fashion show in aid of The Lavender Trust at Sketch on March 4, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images)
Getty Images

** FILE **Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., and his daughters Malia, left, and daughter Sasha enjoy the Iowa State Fair in this Aug. 16, 2007, file photo in Des Moines, Iowa. The girls are fans of Hannah Montana and Beyonce, but think anything to do with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton is "yuck", Obama told a celebrity magazine. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
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** FILE ** Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves to supporters with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia, left, and Sasha, center, at an after caucus rally at the Hy-Vee Center after winning the Iowa democratic presidential caucus in this Jan. 3, 2008, file photo in Des Moines, Iowa. Obama says his two daughters are fans of Hannah Montana and Beyonce, but think anything to do with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton is "yuck." The Democratic presidential contender told celebrity magazine Us Weekly that his daughters got to meet Beyonce backstage at a concert and "they just love her to death." (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, file)
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Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
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Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
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Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
AP

Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
AP

Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
AP
"This is my first time judging anything like this," she
told Reuters. "I'm going to look at how the girls carry
themselves, what they look like, the way they dress and what
they say."
It might seem ironic that Hilton, 27, sees herself as a
role model and is judging what other women will say about their
lives and futures. She starred in U.S. reality TV show "The
Simple Life" portraying herself as a rich girl overcome by the
boring routine of daily, middle-class life.
Hilton earned a lot of unwanted publicity in 2003 after an
amateur sex video of her hit the Internet, and spent three
weeks in a Los Angeles last year in a drunken driving case.
But her name is used to sell a host of products around the
world and she is followed by paparazzi.
Hilton said 90 percent of stories about her in the media
are "complete lies," and she blamed the numerous bloggers on
the Internet for spreading misinformation.
"I don't pay attention to lies because I am a good person,
I work very hard and I've built this empire on my own. I think
this is an inspiration for a lot of girls out there."
Asked if she was happy to be seen as a role model by girls,
Hilton said: "Yes."
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Hilton, whose grandfather Barron Hilton decided to donate
97 percent of his $2.3 billion wealth to charity, said she did
not have any hard feelings about his decision, which many
presumed would drastically reduce her future inheritance.
"It won't affect me anyway," she said. "My grandfather is
an incredible man. He is very generous. And what he is doing is
amazing."
Hilton's latest project is a show on MTV in which people
will compete to be her friend. "Paris Hilton's My New BFF"
(best friend forever) is set to air on the U.S. cable network
later this year.
"I obviously have a lot of friends already, but I just
thought it would make great TV show," she said. "You know, most
of my friends are from Hollywood. They are kind a jaded a
little bit. We are going to be meeting people from all around
the world."
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2008-03-28 07:13:26