'I have a new outlook on life'

2007-06-28 07:33

Los Angeles - A chastened Paris Hilton said on Wednesday that three weeks in prison had changed her life for the better - but insisted she should never have been jailed in the first place.

In her first televised interview since the end of her 23-day jail stint on Tuesday, the iconic hotel heiress told CNN anchor Larry King that she now viewed her incarceration as a God-given opportunity to re-evaluate her life.

"I just felt this is like a new beginning for me, just sitting in jail I just used it as a journey to figure out myself and who I am and what I want to do," Hilton said. "There's just so much more to me than what people think."

Asked if the experience had changed her, Hilton replied: "Yeah, definitely. I have a new outlook on life ... It was a very traumatic experience but I feel like God makes everything happen for a reason.

"It gave me a time-out in life to really find out what is important and what I want to do, figure out who I am," she added. "And even though it was hard I took that time just to get to know myself."

Treated unfairly

Hilton, 26, was released from the Century Regional Detention Facility in Los Angeles early on Tuesday, the latest twist to a celebrity saga that made worldwide headlines since she was first slapped with a jail sentence last month.

Hilton's imprisonment and release into home detention after serving just three days of a 45-day prison sentence earlier this month led to allegations of "celebrity justice", before she was dragged sobbing and wailing back to court.

Hilton said that while prison had been a blessing in disguise, she remained convinced she had been treated unfairly.

Asked if she thought she had received a raw deal, she replied: "Yeah I do. But even though I hated it, I'm glad it's happened in a way because it's made me stronger than ever."

Later, she added: "I think the crime did not fit the punishment. I don't feel like I deserved to go to jail."

The socialite acknowledged however the seriousness of an initial drink-driving conviction that led to her probation violation, when she was caught driving despite having a suspended licence.

"This all started off with the DUI (Driving Under the Influence) charge," Hilton said. "I will never drink and drive again. Even though it was only one drink, I'll never make that mistake again."

Hilton said she had expected to receive community service when appearing in court last month to receive her punishment for driving with a suspended licence - and said she was stunned to receive a prison term.

Paris 'in denial'

"I was walking in there assuming I was just going to get community service," Hilton said. "That's what my lawyer said. So when he sentenced me to that much time in jail it was shocking because that doesn't happen, ever."

Veteran interviewer King later described Hilton's performance as "puzzling and perplexing" saying: "She's in denial about what she's done."

Hilton meanwhile described the strip search which was her first introduction to jail as the "most humiliating experience of my life".

"Doing that in front of someone ... It's pretty gross. Having to take your clothes off in front of someone you don't even know," she said.

Hilton said she had been a wreck during the first days in prison, saying her claustrophobia had been aggravated by confinement to a windowless cell in the all-women facility.

"The whole idea of being in jail was very scary," Hilton said. "I hate to be alone, so that was really hard for me. I had nightmares that people would break into my cell and hurt me."

Hilton was also unimpressed with her prison diet "The only hot meal was this mystery, jail slop," she said. "It wasn't that tasty."

Inmates offered support

Hilton said a Father's Day visit from her parents was among her toughest moments inside. "In jail you can only talk through the glass," she said.

"The first Father's Day when I couldn't give my dad a hug that was really hard on me," she said, her voice faltering.

Fellow inmates had offered her their support during her jail-time however. "They were really nice, speaking through the vents to me," Hilton said, describing her release as "one of the happiest days of my life."

"It's hard to even describe. It was so exciting," she said. "Just to breathe the fresh air, to see the stars ... It was just pandemonium, and then as soon as I saw my mom I just ran to give her a hug."

Hilton is mainly well-known for being rich and famous, and shot to international fame thanks largely to a sex tape of her and an-ex boyfriend which appeared on the Internet.

She has also released a music album and appeared in films such as House of Wax, Pledge This, and the forthcoming The Hottie and the Nottie.

Regularly photographed on red carpets or partying hard, Hilton said Wednesday she was going to leave her wild-child days behind.

"I'm sick of it," she said. "It's fun but it's not going to be the mainstay in my life," she said.

- SAPA