Articles by Ryan Coleman

Entertainment

Paris Hilton speaks out about claim Ghislaine Maxwell called her perfect recruit for Jeffrey Epstein

Paris Hilton doesn't know her. The influencer, actress, musician, and DJ recently responded to a five-year-old claim that convicted child sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell once sought her as a romantic prospect for her close friend, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in 2019. "I don't even remember ever meeting her," Hilton told The Sunday Times Magazine in an interview published Saturday. "I'm such a good clickbait name." The allegation linking Hilton to Maxwell first arose in 2020. The year before, Epstein, a former math teacher–turned–high-flying financier, died of an apparent suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking minors. Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, released by Lifetime exactly one year after his death, included testimony from eight survivors of his alleged crimes, as well as interviews with individuals who were friendly and familiar with both Epstein and Maxwell. One of those individuals was composer Christopher Mason, who in the docuseries' final episode recalled a "naughty" anecdote about Maxwell. Mason claimed a friend of his was with Maxwell at a party in New York City, where she was "scouring" for "younger girls to go on dates with Jeffrey." When Maxwell spotted Hilton, she asked Mason's friend, "'Oh my God, who's that?' and was looking at this pretty, young, sort of teenage girl.' She said, 'Do you know her?' My friend said, 'Yes, she's called Paris Hilton.' And Ghislaine said, 'God, she'd be perfect for Jeffrey. Could you introduce us?'" Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Mason and Hilton for comment. Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter. Hilton has not previously discussed Mason's allegation. Though images have since circulated picturing Hilton together with both Maxwell and Donald Trump at the Anand Jon Fashion Show in New York City in 2000. Trump has been at the center of the recent resurgence of interest in the Epstein case. Emails recently released by House Democrats included references to the president, who has not denied his prior friendship with the convicted sex offender. Scrutiny of the true nature of Trump's relationship with Epstein remains high, and the friendship is frequently mocked on late-night television. Amid the scrutiny, Trump has called for the firing of show hosts like Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers. Sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live also frequently lampoons the relationship, most recently airing a sketch on the Nov. 15 episode that shows the president (played by James Austin Johnson) defending himself after the House Oversight Committee released emails from Epstein last week. Trump's name appears in several of the emails, with Epstein writing that the president "knew about the girls." Trump has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that he knew nothing about Epstein's sex trafficking.