Sunday, July 1, 2007

paris say aloha

After 23 days spent reading, writing and figuring out where she went wrong, Paris H
ilton must be more than ready for some fun in the sun.

The heiress touched down in Maui Thursday afternoon, clad in sunglasses and a black wig in an apparently futile attempt at disguising herself as she made her way from first-class airport lounge to first-class resort accommodations.

Either way, Hilton has left the contiguous 48 states, two days removed from a three-week stint in jail and less than 24 hours after opening up on Larry King Live about what she went through, who she really is and what she plans on doing now that she's seen the error of her oft-flighty ways.

Hilton said that, while at first she expected to be sentenced to community service and that jail was unfair, the punishment was really a "blessing in disguise," a chance to discover what was really important in life and turn over a new leaf.

"I just had to deal with it," she said. "If I was going to be there, I had to make the best of it."

The perennial red carpet and tabloid presence also told King that, despite her party-hearty image (and the myriad photographic images contributing to her reputation), she is not a big drinker and, other than prescription meds to treat attention deficit disorder, does not take drugs.

King, who has lobbed quite a few questions in his lifetime, wasn't quite sure whether Hilton was being perfectly ingenuous during that part of the interview, however.

King felt Hilton was being honest "for the most part," he told Ryan Seacrest Thursday during the E! News anchor's KIIS-FM morning show.

"I don't think anyone believes that she's never done drugs. When you do something, the best way to be is to say that you did them. Then the audience will believe you. The worst is to try to deny it. And I think that's hard to take."

Also in a debunking mood was The Smoking Gun, which has posted seven videos featuring Hilton talking about smoking marijuana, engaged in a discussion about Quaaludes and prescription painkillers, musing about whether to take hallucinogenic mushrooms, and smoking hash—albeit in Amsterdam, where it's legal.

But, whether Hilton fudged the truth or not, King deemed their Q&A good television.

"I don't think you turned it off," he said. "I thought she looked good—for someone who'd been in jail, she looked fine."

Also, "she gives you shorter answers than you would like. I might have wanted more introspection. And I think she's finding herself. She's been raised with more money than God. And you've got to face life as she's tried to face it."

Hilton's appearance was certainly a coup for King, whose long-running CNN show attracted nearly triple the audience it usually gets, a hefty 3.2 million viewers as opposed to its usual 1.1 million.





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