Kathy Hilton says watching Paris’s documentary about childhood abuse ‘put me into such a depression’

Reality TV star said it was ‘devastating’ learning about her daughters alleged abuse

Kathy Hilton has admitted that she struggled with depression after watching her daughter Paris’s documentary about allegedly being abused at school.

In September 2020, Paris released a documentary titled This is Paris, in which she alleged that she suffered “traumatising” abuse during her 11 months at Provo Canyon School in Utah.

The socialite claimed that staff members at the school beat her, watched her shower, made her take medication without a diagnosis and sent her to solitary confinement without clothes.

On Wednesday (5 January), Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kathy told Andy Cohen on SXM that she initially hadn’t wanted to watch the film, which was released on YouTube.

“It was too much after just watching a lot of the little clips, the promos and trailers,” Kathy said. “You can imagine me just finding out [about the abuse], and I’m not one of those people, ‘Oh this is about me’, because it’s not about me. But yeah, it really was so devastating, the way I was told. For her to keep that in for 20 years.”

Kathy said that she finally decided to watch This is Paris after her daughter told her it was “very important” to her, but admitted that watching it “put me in such a depression”.

Paris (left) and Kathy in 2019 (Getty Images)

“I said to her finally a few weeks ago, and then when I went to Washington with her, I said, ‘I’m just not ready to watch it.’ So when we got back, I did watch it, and we held hands,” she told Cohen.

“We held hands for an hour watching this thing, and just the energy that I was feeling from her and how relieved and happy that she was that I was watching.”

Provo Canyon School is currently under different ownership, having been sold around two decades ago. Its administration told media at the time of the documentary’s release that it could not comment on anything that occurred before the change of ownership, including Hilton’s time there.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, the Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.