You Should Read Paris Hilton's Memoir, Too
“You’re a woman who lived eight lives at once,” said Elliot to Paris. During the 1960s and ’70s, Elliot Mintz was a popular TV host who interviewed more than 2,000 people. How did he cross paths with Paris? What advice does this memoir carry within its pages?
This is a response to 3 New Releases To Add To Your 2021 Reading List.
The Spin Wizard and the Star
One summer, Paris Hilton (aka "Star") found herself in a bit of a problem. Her apartment had been ransacked - yet another break-in. Not knowing what she would soon find on the other side of the fence, she readily clambered over the neighboring property. That property belonged to her former boyfriend. To make matters worse, Paris managed to get herself tangled up in a manner that would make even the most skilled contortionist proud. The result? Blaring alarms set off a chain reaction that summoned a battalion of cops, followed closely by the persistent paparazzi.
She decided to call Mintz (her media consultant and a regular at Hilton's Thanksgiving table), who showed up less than an hour later. To her surprise, he swiftly steered the cops away from the scene. Right after that, our "spin wizard" issued a statement where he shifted the focus of media outlets from the escapade gone wrong to Hilton's newly-created brand.
"All these years later, this is still one thing that most impresses me about Elliot: He never speaks without thinking. Every word is a precise footstep. (...) the guy who can be trusted when you can't quite trust yourself," said Paris in her memoir.
What else did Elliot advise Paris on? He helped in building and maintaining her brand. Knowing your way around the media world if you're involved in PR, journalism, or business is substantial, so I advise you to write down the following words from Mintz if you developed an interest in the abovementioned fields:
"My specialty is how much can a person do where they’re promoting their own work, where they become secondary in that dialogue and it’s about that performance in the movie, that innovative sound they created in the music, what was revealed in the book that altered people’s lives. That, to me, is the key to great media - lasting media. You can’t simply be about the sale. Remember, there are such things as limited editions.”
"If you reach a smaller number of people with real potency and power, they will stay with you forever."
Some of the people Mintz interviewed were Bob Dylan, Salvador Dalí (the one with a long mustache and hare-brained ideas of immense artistic value), and John Lennon. If you want to learn more, feel free to explore Elliot Mintz's educational website, which covers thousands of interviews recorded on tape, available at your fingertips: Elliot Mintz Official Website (not a promotion, just my recommendation).
Behind the Glitter and Shine: Paris Hilton's Untold Story of Struggle and Strength
Despite the glaringly obvious fact that Paris Hilton was born into privilege, that doesn't mean she didn't face her fair share of troubles throughout the years. However, Paris was not privileged enough to keep her confidential information hidden for long, and her right to bodily autonomy was actively denied. In today's world, basic human rights are considered another, far more important, privilege.
"How is it that the law allows me to trademark and protect the word 'sliving' but refuses to protect a woman's right to control images of her own body?"
When she was younger, she would often sneak out of the house and lose herself in the crowd at parties.
"One night after the Pia Zadora club adventure, I tried to smuggle Nicky, our cousin Farah, and our friend Khloé Kardashian into Bar One. Khloé and Farah were little middle school girls, so I did Khloé up with full makeup, a long red wig, and a floppy black hat. I told her, “'If anyone asks, your name is Betsey Johnson.'”
Her parents then decided to enroll her in a troubled teen program, naively thinking that it would help straighten their child's discipline. Little did they know that this decision would permanently change Paris's outlook on life. According to the American Bar Association, the "troubled teen" industry is a thriving business, receiving an estimated $23 billion of annual public funds, supposedly to address the behavioral and psychological needs of vulnerable youth. Tragically, lives are lost within these programs. However, Paris Hilton refused to falter after her unfortunate time spent there. She chose to work on herself, even though nothing was quite the same after her return home.
#BreakingCodeSilence shines a light on the industry's lucrative and deadly side - take a look at their website at your leisure.
My Top 5 Excerpts From the Memoir
"Here’s what I believe: Your reality is totally up for grabs; if you don’t create your own life, someone else will create something based on their own agenda and project that on you. Don’t let them do it, my loves. Don’t let them tell you that their something is bigger than your everything. Think about that famous René Magritte painting that shows a pipe with the words Ceci n’est pas une pipe. ('This is not a pipe.') Back in 1929, people looked at it and said, 'Erm, I know what a pipe is, mate, and that’s a pipe.' But it isn’t a pipe. It’s a painting of a pipe."
"People loved her. Or they loved to hate her, which was just as marketable. I leaned into that character, my ticket to financial freedom and a safe place to hide. I made sure I never had a quiet moment to figure out who I was without her. I was afraid of that moment because I didn’t know what I’d find."
"Somebody had to do it first, right? It doesn’t matter if the people around you don’t get it right now; one beautiful thing about the internet is that the moment lives on for all time. Björk’s Marjan Pejoski swan dress at the Oscars got laughed at in 2001. Now it’s iconic."
"Disruption is scary for people who lack imagination, and terrifying for people who hold on to the old-school power structure. They don’t like the idea that the future belongs to those of us who happen to be a little bit mad."
"That day, I wanted everyone inside those walls to know the same thing I want you to know right now: The people who hurt you don’t get the last word."
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