Entertainment
Paris Hilton responds to Sarah Silverman’s apology over 2007 prison joke at MTV awards
Parison Hilton has responded to Sarah Silverman’s apology to the former reality star and businesswoman, after the comedian’s 2007 jokes about Paris’s spell in prison resurfaced.
While hosting the MTV Movie Awards, Sarah took aim at the socialite who was preparing for a stint behind bars, which would begin just hours later for violating her parole in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.
The comic made crude jokes about how the reality TV star would spend her time locked up, suggesting to make Paris feel more ‘comfortable’ in prison the guards were going to paint the bars ‘to look like penises’ – as Paris sat stoically in the audience.
Speaking on her podcast this week, Paris told how Sarah’s monologue left her devastated and fighting back tears while seated in the star-studded audience, which prompted the comedian to issue an apology this week.
On her podcast, Sarah – who also recently addressed ‘unfortunate’ comments about Britney Spears at the time – described her jokes as ‘hardcore’ and admitted she would not tell them today, adding she didn’t realise Paris was in the audience and when she saw her she immediately regretted the routine.
She said: ‘The crowd went bananas and while I was thrilled at the success of my monologue, I remember spotting her in the audience. I really do. And I remember seeing that look on her face and my heart sank. Because there was a person under there.’
Sarah went on, adding she wrote Paris a letter of apology a couple days later: ‘I regretted the jokes not years later but kind of immediately.
‘So here I am, 14 years later, telling you Paris that I am really sorry. I was then and I am much more completely and with far more understanding now.
‘I can’t imagine what you were going through at the time.
‘So Paris, I hope you accept my apology and I hope that you feel my remorse. I felt it the second I saw your face that night. It feels terrible to know you have hurt someone and it’s important to make it right. So I hope this does that.’
The businesswoman – who recently blasted ‘cruel’ David Letterman after a 2007 interview on his talk show resurfaced – responded to Sarah’s apology in an impromptu podcast released on Friday.
She said she was shocked but ‘pleasantly surprised’ to hear from the comedian, saying: ‘She was so genuine and so sweet and it really moved me.
‘I felt emotional hearing it and I could tell she really did mean what she said when she was apologising.
‘Thank you, I really, really appreciate you doing that. I know it’s difficult for anyone to apologise, and for someone to do that, really means a lot.’
Paris, who spent three weeks in prison, had said on her podcast of the joke: ‘I was sitting there wanting to die.
‘I was trying to hold back my tears so hard. I had tears welling in my eyes, I wanted to run out of the entire room, but I just was trying to be strong and sit there, and the whole audience is laughing and she would not stop. It was so painful.’
