Paris Hilton has spoken candidly about the "terrifying" physical and mental abuse she endured as a teenager.
In a revealing new interview with The Sunday Times, the businesswoman and star of The Simple Life said the abuse happened when she was sent to Provo Canyon School in Utah as a 16-year-old.
Her parents made the decision to send her to the school, which bills itself on its website as "an intensive, psychiatric youth residential treatment center", after she began skipping school and sneaking into nightclubs as a teenager.
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However, Hilton says she sensed as soon as she arrived that it was "going to be worse than anywhere else".
“It was just terrifying to be in a place every day where people who work there were sadistic and wanted to torture and hurt children,” she recalled. “I don’t wish that on anyone.”
“The staff would say, ‘You spoilt, rich brat, no one loves you, no one cares about you.' They love to break you down as much as possible.”
Hilton also spoke about her experience at the school in a separate interview with People, saying: “The staff would say terrible things. They were constantly making me feel bad about myself and bully me. I think it was their goal to break us down.
"And they were physically abusive, hitting and strangling us," she added. "They wanted to instill fear in the kids so we’d be too scared to disobey them.”
In her Sunday Times interview, Hilton says her parents were unaware of what was happening at the school, and says: “I don’t blame them.”
Hilton speaks more about her time at the school in her upcoming documentary film, This Is Paris, which is due to debut on September 14 on YouTube Originals.
If you are experiencing any form of abuse, please call SupportLine on 01708 765 200
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