Jail 'a career move' for Paris

2007-05-06 21:33

Sandy Cohen

Los Angeles - Paris Hilton is so pampered, she doesn't read her mail.

"I have people who do that for me," she told a judge.

Legal documents and traffic citations elude her.

"I just sign what people tell me to sign," she testified.

Facing a 45-day jail sentence - and perhaps her first brush with accountability - could be a reality check for Hilton. And regardless of how she handles it, experts say she'll be more popular than ever.

"It will actually increase her star appeal in a very sick and demented way," said longtime publicist Michael Levine. "There's a segment of our society that's somehow engaged in the soap opera that is Paris Hilton, and this a very compelling plot line in the soap opera."

More famous than ever

A judge ordered the socialite to report to a county jail in suburban Los Angeles by June 5 to serve 45 days for violating the terms of her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. Her attorney has said he will appeal the sentence.

That only prolongs the publicity, said Roger Gillott, whose public relations firm, Gillott Communications, specialises in crisis management.

"If she wants to put this behind her and come off looking remorseful or repentant, then she should just serve her time as quietly as possible," he said. "The more she protests, the more she claims she was innocent and doesn't know what she's doing, that she never reads her legal papers, the more she portrays an image of someone who doesn't pay close attention and thinks they are above being held accountable."

The 26-year-old hotel heiress, who parlayed her party lifestyle into worldwide fame, told the judge on Friday that she didn't have time to talk with her attorneys about her probation.

"I'm a very busy person," she said.

That dismissive attitude is part of her appeal, said veteran publicist David Brokaw.

"The premise of her fame is being naughty," he said. "This is a career move for her. It simply fuels the fascination. She can only win with this."

Bad behaviour means big publicity for Hilton, Levine said, noting that she was not maligned when her homemade sex tape surfaced on the internet. Instead she became more famous than before.

"This is a girl who has total disregard for the rules of our society," Levine said. "And she's been rewarded for it."

Time behind bars is not likely to impart any lessons either, said West Hollywood psychologist Jeremy Ritzlin.

"It's going to make her very unhappy because she's not used to this. She couldn't buy her way out of it," he said. "But one 45-day trip to jail is not going to change her behaviour."

He said jail time doesn't equal rehabilitation and the club-hopping Hilton would need extensive therapy to make lasting changes in her life.

"This doesn't sound like just 6 to 8 visits of crisis counselling," he said.

- AP