DoctorOz: Paris Hilton Speaks Out on Traumatic Boarding School Abuse

She was the quintessential Hollywood if-girl, famous for being famous even before the Kardashians came along. You know her for her famous friends, tiny dogs, and her scandals. But today, a side of Paris Hilton you have never seen. She's speaking out on the traumatic childhood experience that she says changed her forever. Paris Hilton joins me now. Paris, thank you for being here. So, you refer to the Paris we all know as a character you play. What do you want people to know about the real Paris? Well, I want people to know who I truly am and this entire time I've been playing a character and I've worked very hard. I've built a huge business on my own and that's what I wanted people to know about the movie, about my heart as well. Your dad nicknamed you Star, I understand, because you always loved the camera, but your mom did not want you in show business. So, at age 18, there was of course the famous sex tape that you made with your then-boyfriend. It was leaked and you likened that to being electronically raped. How traumatic was that for you? It was just, it's something that I will regret for the rest of my life, trusting someone and loving someone and then just being betrayed like that was one of the most painful experiences anyone could ever go through. I was in shock. I was humiliated. I didn't want to leave my house. I had the whole world watching it, laughing at me. It was like a nightmare. I just, I wish that I was like waking up from the worst nightmare ever. Up next, Paris reveals an incident she says happened in her childhood, one that still haunts her nightmares to this day. We'll get into it when we come back. We are back with Paris Hilton. She's here speaking out on a traumatic childhood experience that changed her forever. Paris and her sister Nikki are revealing details for the first time in her new documentary. This is Paris. Take a look. I remember it was a school night, it was the middle of the night and I just heard screaming, bloody murder. I knew there was a takedown in the works. I didn't know it was people coming in and capturing her. I thought I was being kidnapped. I started screaming for my mom and dad like help me and no one came. As they were taking me, I saw my parents standing by their door crying. I was like please help me what's happening and no one would tell me what was happening. And then in the morning it was breakfast and Paris didn't come to the breakfast table and my parents were like smiling like everything's fine and we didn't ask any questions and then I think they said she like went to boarding school. Paris just sitting there now witnessing that again, how does it make you feel? Trying to like not like break down and cry because it's just hard to talk about and hard to remember and that's I think why I just tried to not ever think about it. Just hearing my sister when she told me that story for the first time, it just broke my heart. So let's unwrap this a bit. You allege that you experienced physical and emotional abuse at this school that you were taken to including solitary confinement. Can you describe what it felt like being there to grabbed out of your home and then put it in a place that you never would have expected? It was terrifying. Just these two men coming into my room with handcuffs saying do you want to come you're going to come with us either the easy way or the hard way and literally with the handcuffs I was screaming I thought that I was being taken from my house and kidnapped and then being taken there was just like torture every single day. All day long being verbally, emotionally and sometimes physically abused. The staff there were just terrible people and no child should ever have to go to someplace like this. I can't believe these places exist. Could you share an example of physical trauma or emotional trauma? The scariest parts were when I planned to run away and another one of the students there told on me and then the staff wanted to make an example of me and I got strangled. I got slapped. Then they were trying to force medication on me which I had no idea what it was and I started just not taking it and kind of hiding it and when I got caught for that that's when I got sent into solitary confinement which was a little room with no windows and just freezing and just locked in there for 20 hours. It was I felt like I was going crazy. Oh my goodness your sister Nikki shared an insight. She said I guess quote right trauma the mind may forget but the body never forgets. How does your body today remember your trauma as you just described? Ever since I was there I've had severe nightmares where it feels so real. Every single nightmare I've had is being taken out of my bed, being brought back to this place, being locked in there trying to get out and it just feels so real and just everything in my life not being able to trust people, not being able to let people in, not even knowing who I am because when you go to these places they try to take away your identity. They want to break you down. You know Paris back when you were there your mom didn't know what was happening and there's an interesting moment in the documentary that caught my attention when your mom first learned about the abuse that you suffered and she learned that because you were filming this documentary. I want everyone at home take a look at this. She would say things to me after like I still have nightmares. I still in the middle of my night I feel like you know she would say that and I always take what people say with a grain of salt like I think yeah it did bother her but it was it was our way of saving you. What do you mean solitary? What do you mean? Are you serious? She's never told me that. That's stunning Paris. Why did you never tell your mother about the abuse that you said you endured? The story you just told and shared me with me she'd never heard but she had believed you. I tried to tell her but every time I would even say one word about it on the phone the staff would immediately hang up and then I would get punished and then if I would try to write a letter it would be immediately ripped up and just anytime I would try to talk about it they would either tell my parents I'm lying I'm trying to manipulate them and basically they they were manipulating my parents into believing that and then finally after 11 months of being there and I got out I just promised myself Paris you're never going to tell anyone this story. I just buried my feelings and just tried to ignore it. Your parents aren't the only ones to choose wilderness style behavioral schools. Many parents feel that they're doing the right thing by getting their kids help. Critics of course are saying that they lack regulation they're rife with allegations of neglect and abuse that they're so extreme something is alleged and there have been fatalities so just a few years before you were sent to one school for troubled teens in California there was a convicted child rapist and killer. He was suspected in the disappearance of two boys there and he was said to have been using the school as his hunting ground. Do you remember feeling unsafe at school while you were there? Do you remember these rumors of this fellow who was kidnapping children and hurting them? Well I felt unsafe because of the staff but I also had heard that rumor and I wasn't sure if it was true or not or it was something they were saying to scare us because they loved using scare tactics on us and now I'm working with Jen Robinson and a movement called Breaking Code Silence where survivors are coming forward and telling their story and I also am in contact now with Senator Sarah Gessler who's the senator of Oregon who is trying to pass legislation on this and I am going to use my platform and my voice and everything in my power to make this happen because these places should not exist and this is no place for any child or any human being to be because all it causes is more trauma and the children are our future and the fact that this is still happening is just so wrong and I want to put a stop to it. I'm glad you're speaking out Paris. We did reach out your former school has said in a statement that it was sold by its previous ownership in 2000 and they cannot comment on the operations or the patient experience prior to that time. We also reached out to the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs that's the organization oversees many wilderness teen therapy programs. They also commented they were not created until after you left the school but they said in part NATSAP programs are required to meet approved standards of care report incidents and be subject to periodic often unannounced on-site reviews and audits. You've described a tendency since you got out of the school to date controlling and physically abusive men saying that you wanted love so badly you were willing to be hit. Do you think this is related to the alleged abuse you experienced away at school? 100 percent. There's no way that I would have ever let any of these type of men into my life if I had not been through that. I now have opened my heart and found my perfect soul mate and the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. Well Carter Ream is a lucky and very wise man who picked you. You both are going to be blessed together. I'm so happy for you. Thank you. You recently spoke out about your long time friend Britney Spears saying that her conservatorship I'm going to quote you breaks your heart. Why do you feel so passionately about that? I love her. I think that she is so sweet and innocent and kind and she's worked her entire life since she's a little girl and she's built this whole business and brand and she can't even enjoy it because she's just so controlled and I think because I was so controlled that's maybe why I even feel for her even more and I feel that she's an adult and she should be able to live her life and not have people control her because they're greedy. Pierce I have really enjoyed getting to know you. This is Pierce. The documentary premieres September the 14th on YouTube and if you'd like to sign a petition calling for the reform of the troubled teen industry or come forward with your own story go to BreakingCodeSilence.net. Pierce I'm going to applaud you for speaking up being brave enough to allow yourself to be seen for who you really are. God bless you. Thank you and thank you Dr. Oz. You're such an inspiration and I'm a huge fan. I always have been and I'm so happy to be with you here on the show and I wish we could be doing this in real life but hopefully next time we will. Hopefully. You take care of yourself. We'll be right back everybody.