LOS ANGELES – If you thought "The Hills" was filled with too much bitching and backstabbing, it's nothing compared to what starlet Audrina Patridge experienced growing up in the Orange County town of Placentia, Calif.
"I got picked on," Patridge told Tarts last Thursday. "Girls were always rude and catty to my sister and I. They will say anything to put you down and make themselves feel better."
Patridge returned to her old high school last week for the OfficeMax "A Day Made Better" campaign and recalled those difficult days.
"I had a few close guy friends and the girls didn't like it, so they would call me names and spread terrible rumors," she told Tarts. "You just have to hold your chin up and take it as a compliment that certain people dedicate that much time and effort to talk about you. I don't think I'll ever stop experiencing that, I have just gotten better at understanding and dealing with it."
Although Audrina always had high hopes of breaking into show biz, the 23-year-old's not-so-spirited school experience prompted interest in quite a different career path.
"I was committed to doing well in school. I took a few semesters of college with child psychology in mind, but eventually dropped out and moved to L.A. to pursue my dreams to model and act," she said. "People are always a little surprised [at where she is now] because I was on the shy side when I was younger."
The starlet also said that what we see week-by-week on her MTV show "The Hills" isn't exactly "reality."
"People assume they know me from what they see in the media and on television: that I am just full of blank stares and another painted face in Hollywood, riding that 15 minutes of fame on a reality show," she explained. "It's hard to be judged when the public is only seeing a teeny tiny bit of what I am all about. I love music, my family and my friends with everything I have, and I am very dedicated to my dreams."
Patridge donated a day in her slammed schedule last week to go back to El Dorado High and honor her favorite teacher Cozette Petitt with a check and various office supplies for her classroom. A slew of other stars such as Cindy Crawford, Jeremy Piven, Jessica and Ashlee Simpson and Ashton Kutcher are also taking part in the initiative across the country to draw national support for teachers.
Everyone Wants to Cash In On Paris
Paris Hilton certainly isn’t one to shy away from opportunity given that she just released her second satirical "Paris for President" campaign, but she isn’t the only one pursuing a piece of the presidential pie.
The elderly woman who owns the white chair that Hilton lies on while she does her "that wrinkly white haired guy used me in his campaign ad" spiel in the first spoof had the party princess autograph it and write "Vote 2008."
The lady (who happens to be an old family friend of the Hiltons from the Hamptons) now wants to cash in by auctioning off the old white prop, but won’t accept anything less than a grand. Well you never know, Paris could be our next president after all. ...
Although it seems the hotel heiress might be losing a little of her magic. According to Nielsen Ratings, Paris's new MTV reality show "My BFF" has averaged just 1.4 million in its two episodes so far, which is quite a fall from the debut of her first reality show "The Simple Life" back in 2003 which garnered 13 million.
Even fellow MTV hit "The Hills" outshone Hilton big-time with its fourth season debuting miles ahead with 3.48 million viewers.
Mariah Parties With Her In-Laws, Aubrey O’Day’s Dog Digs Obama & Michael Phelps Causes Chaos
Mariah Carey was once a reclusive musician, but ever since marrying DJ Nick Cannon, the pop princess has been boosting her bank balance by hosting a string of soirees in Sin City.
Last Tuesday Mariah hosted her hubby’s birthday bash at Vegas hotspot PURE but when she wasn’t canoodling with Cannon in the DJ booth, the 38-year-old was dancing and drinking with her mother-in-law. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Cannon showed his love by mixing a medley of Mariah’s hottest hits.
But across the coast, "Danity Kane" hottie Aubrey O’Day was spotted getting down and dirty with the likes of Emile Hirsch and designer/socialite Tinsley Mortimer at the Absolut Disco in New York. O’Day was over-shadowed by her date: her dog decked out in pro-Obama clothes.
Also on the New York party scene this week was Michael Phelps (who is clearly making the most of his Olympic success) as host of Bowlmor Lanes 70th anniversary party. We're told the super swimmer partied with supermodel Selita Ebanks but despite insisting he is still single, our spies saw him getting "very friendly" with pretty young pal from his posse.
Pop Tarts spies also spotted music mogul Clive Davis at the Grey Goose Entertainment and Sundance Channel celebration of the new season of "Iconoclasts," held at trendy Kiss & Fly on Tuesday. The 76-year-old partygoer apparently insisted that Wyclef Jean perform earlier than scheduled so he and the party peeps could get home in time to watch the presidential debate.
Molly Sims Steps In for an 'Exhausted' Rosario Dawson
Molly Sims was in the middle of an InStyle Magazine photoshoot in New York recently when she got an emergency call to fly to Miami to replace Rosario Dawson as host of Intermix’s party to celebrate the launch of the new pink BlackBerry Curve.
But Dawson wasn’t axed from the job -- we’re told the starlet (who has been busy promoting her new flick "Eagle Eye" alongside Shia LeBeouf ) is suffering from exhaustion and was "literally too tired to get out of bed."
Life can be tough in Tinseltown. …
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