Paris Hilton on how music saved her life and healed her past
The hotel heiress and entrepreneur is the subject of a new revealing music documentary, "Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir." She spoke to Fox News Digital about how music helped her endure the fallout after scandal rocked her world.
Paris Hilton believed her life was over when a sex tape, never intended for public viewing, was leaked.
The hotel heiress, fragrance designer and DJ is reclaiming her narrative in a new documentary, "Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir." The film follows the mom of two as she prepares for her first full-length concert at the Hollywood Palladium following the release of her 2024 album, "Infinite Icon."
The 44-year-old told Fox News Digital that music "saved my life," helping her endure the fallout after an intimate recording with her then-boyfriend, Rick Salomon, was widely circulated. According to the documentary, Hilton was 19 when the tape was filmed in 2001.
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Paris Hilton is speaking out about how music saved her life in the upcoming documentary, "Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir." (Michael Buckner/WWD via Getty Images)
"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.
"It was just humiliating," she shared. "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."
"It’s something that will affect me for the rest of my life," Hilton 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."
Paris Hilton became visibly emotional when looking back at how the sex tape scandal impacted her. (11:11 Media)
It was 2003, and Hilton was in Australia to promote her new reality series, "The Simple Life," alongside close friend Nicole Richie. Her manager called with devastating news. A late-night talk show had received a 30-second clip of a sex tape.
Hilton first dismissed it as fake, noting her show was days from premiering. But when her manager sent the footage, she realized it was real. Soon after, a full version of the tape was released.
Paris Hilton's documentary, "Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir" is described as "a new documentary concert film" focusing on the "Stars Are Blind" singer. (11:11 Media)
"He was the first guy that I met when I got out of Provo [Canyon School] at a club in New York," Hilton said about Salomon in the film. "I was so in love with him. He was ... my life. And I would have done anything for him."
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"The Simple Life," starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, premiered Dec. 2, 2003. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
WATCH: PARIS HILTON ON HOW MUSIC SAVED HER LIFE AND HEALED HER PAST
In the film, Hilton alleged Salomon brought up the idea of making a tape, claiming it was "something I do with all my girlfriends." He even offered to show her other recordings, thinking it would put her at ease, which she refused. Hilton said that at the time, she was "not sexual at all."
"I remember him saying, ‘OK, fine. If you don’t do it, I’ll just call someone else,’" Hilton said in the film.
She eventually gave in.
Nicole Richie made an appearance on "Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir." (11:11 Media)
"That was one of the most painful experiences I’ve been through," said Hilton on facing the aftermath of the leaked tape.
"I’m sure if I had not been through all the other things before, it probably would have been even worse. I was so terrified. Is this going to ruin everything I worked so hard for?"
Paris Hilton said she is determined to transform pain into purpose. Her memoir was published in 2023. (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Selfridges)
Following the tape’s release, Hilton became an unwanted late-night punchline and frequent target of parody.
"I’d always looked up to people like Princess Diana and Grace Kelly and all these elegant women," the socialite reflected in the documentary. "And I felt when he did that to me, I could never be like these women because no one would ever see me that way because of what he did to me. And that always broke my heart so much. ... in my mind, I thought my life was over."
Paris Hilton is seen here performing at the Hollywood Palladium. (11:11 Media)
Hilton previously wrote about the infamous sex tape in her 2023 memoir. She has repeatedly denied ever releasing the recording for publicity. In the film, Hilton doesn't name Salomon in her account. When The Times of London previously published an excerpt of Hilton's memoir, she referred to her ex as a guy who went by "Scum."
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TV personality and child welfare advocate Paris Hilton arrives to testify at the House Committee on Ways and Means hearing on "Strengthening Child Welfare and Protecting Americas Children" on June 26, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
"I hope by telling my story, it could make other girls not get into that same position where they would trust somebody to do that," Hilton told Fox News Digital. "Because, unfortunately, it’s very hard to trust people. Sometimes, there are people in the world who take advantage and would do something like that to someone."
"I hope that telling my story will help others not to put themselves in that position," she said.
In the film, Hilton said her family advised her not to give the scandal "oxygen."
Paris Hilton promotes the release of her self-titled debut CD, "Paris," featuring her hit single "Stars Are Blind" in Los Angeles. (Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images)
"So I didn’t," she said. "I smiled and kept going. I went to the studio and recorded my first album."
Looking back, Hilton explained to Fox News Digital how music became a lifeline.
"With this film, it’s really just seeing my life through the lens of music, how music is something that really saved me and how powerful it is," she said.
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Paris Hilton and Carter Reum married in 2021. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Hilton has since found true love. She married fellow entrepreneur Carter Reum in 2021. They welcomed son Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum in January 2023, and daughter London Marilyn Hilton Reum in November 2023 via surrogacy.
"I feel so lucky I met Carter at the perfect time in my life," she gushed. "We’ve been inseparable. I didn’t even know a man like this existed. He’s kind, loyal, sweet and fun. He has the biggest heart and is obsessed with me."
Paris Hilton accepts the Muse of the Year Award onstage during the TikTok Awards at the Hollywood Palladium on Dec. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for TikTok)
"I feel so safe, secure and supported — like I can do anything in life," she said. "He’s the best husband, best friend and dad — everything I ever wanted. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world every day because of him, my babies and everything in life."
Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum attend the LACMA Art+Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) on Nov. 1, 2025. (Lisa O'Connor/AFP via Getty Images)
Hilton said her future has never been brighter. Her team estimated that in the past decade alone, consumers have spent $4 billion on her branded products, The Times of London reported in November. She told the outlet her business, which employs more than 25 employees, is valued at $1 billion.
"It’s been a journey," she reflected to Fox News Digital. "... For so long, I played this character as an armor or shield to protect myself. And I never really wanted to let anyone in because I didn’t even want to talk about anything deep or serious. But ever since I have been telling my story, it’s just been so healing and so empowering. It makes me proud of this woman that I am, how strong and resilient I am, and that I can be an inspiration to others."
From left: Paris Hilton, Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum, London Marilyn Hilton Reum and Nicky Hilton Rothschild at the Third Annual Young Hearts Friends Fest at Museum of Ice Cream on Jan. 28, 2025, in New York City. (Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty Images)
"I’m getting to know myself all the time," she said. "I finally have time to reflect on my life. Doing a film like this lets me look even deeper. It’s been a journey of self-discovery."
"Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir" premieres Jan. 30.
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