06/05/2007
As Paris Hilton swaps the party life for a jail sentence, stars enjoying the red carpet lifestyle she leaves behind gave their thoughts on her situation.
The 26-year-old hotel heiress checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility in suburban Los Angeles just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday (0630 GMT Monday) to serve 23 days for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.
Hilton surrendered after a surprise appearance earlier that day at the MTV Movie Awards, where she worked the red carpet in a strapless designer gown.
Stars at the CFDA Fashion awards Monday night hoped she would stay positive.
Model Petra Nemcova told AP Entertainment: "In every thing there is a positive and negative in every experience to look at the positive things. Get strength from it and learn from it, and there's always something, even if there's 5% positive or 1% you should focus on that and that will get you through."
Designer Michael Kors added: "I wish her well. What else can you say? I don't want to see anyone have to unduly suffer so I hope everything is okay for her."
Diddy offered the heiress the advice: "Just hold your head up and learn from the mistakes. Don't let nobody bring you down and may God bless you."
Designer Zac Posen said her celebrity has not helped her situation: "I hope she's comfortable and I hope she has learned a lesson outside of jail. I feel very bad for her family. I think it is partially her drive that has caused her to this, but it is also the media."
'Ugly Betty' star Vanessa Williams says a press frenzy was inevitable: "She's a media darling so of course there is going to be attention no matter what she does, and this is a pretty major, major thing for her to happen at such a young age so, unlike Martha Stewart of course there's going to be people watching every aspect of what happens when you're incarcerated as a celebrity, so I think she's going to really mature through this whole thing and I'm sure it will change her permanently."
Designer Betsey Johnson agrees. "If a magazine came out and they weren't in it; then they would be in trouble. As long as they are in it, they are fine; I don't know that's just the way it is right now, and everything is in the extreme. Jail is an extreme too." Johnson added some advice for when Hilton leaves jail: "Karma. I mean just go with it."
But the news of Hilton's sentence came as a surprise to Heidi Klum : "To be honest I don't pay too much attention to all that stuff. I'm not so into the gossip magazines. I don't know I totally lost track of all that stuff. People just told me she was in jail. I didn't even know."
Hilton's lawyer said the heiress was doing well after spending her first night in solitary confinement. "She's using this time to reflect on her life, to see what she can do to make the world better and hopefully, in my opinion, to change the attitudes that exist about her among many people," attorney Richard A. Hutton told reporters Monday after visiting Hilton.
Hilton was being housed in a special unit where she was spending 23 hours a day in a solitary cell, Hutton said. "If she was an ordinary citizen she would have been placed in the general population ... she'd be living in a dorm with 30, 40, 50 other women and the time would pass pretty quick," Hutton said. "She is really being punished because of her celebrity," he added.
Hilton's first meal at jail
Hilton, accompanied by her mother, surrendered at the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles. She was then escorted to the women's facility in Lynwood, where she was booked, fingerprinted, photographed, medically screened and issued an orange top and pants, Whitmore said.
Hilton's booking photo showed the heiress wearing what appeared to be a V-neck shirt, eye makeup and lip gloss that highlighted a slight smile. Her long blond hair was draped over one shoulder.
After checking in, Hilton was given her first meal: cereal, bread and juice.
The "Simple Life" star was in the "special needs" unit of the 13-year-old jail, separate from most of its 2,200 inmates.
The unit contains 12 two-person cells reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates. Hilton's cell has two bunks, a table, a sink, a toilet and a small window.
Like other inmates in that unit, Hilton will take her meals in her cell and will be allowed outside the 12-foot (3.7-meter)-by-8-foot (2.4-meter) space for at least an hour each day to shower, watch TV in the day room, participate in outdoor recreation or talk on the telephone.
No cell phones or BlackBerrys are permitted in the facility, even for visitors.
The jail, a two-story concrete building next to train tracks and beneath a bustling freeway, has been an all-female facility since March 2006. It is located in an industrial area about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
When she was sentenced May 4, the judge ruled she would not be allowed any work release, furloughs or use of an alternative jail or electronic monitoring in lieu of jail.
Despite believing she received an unfair punishment, Hilton was taking responsibility by serving her time, her attorney said.
"She knows it's wrong, but her attitude is, 'I'm going to come in here, I'm going to do my time, I'm going to get it over with and I'm going to show the world who I really am,"' Hutton said.
Officers arrested Hilton in Hollywood on Sept. 7. In January, she pleaded no contest to the reckless-driving charge and was sentenced to 36 months of probation, alcohol education and $1,500 (US Dollars) in fines.
She was pulled over by California Highway Patrol on Jan. 15. Officers informed Hilton she was driving on a suspended license and she signed a document acknowledging she was not to drive.
She then was pulled over by sheriff's deputies on Feb. 27, at which time she was charged with violating probation.
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