Celebrity Paris Hilton was arrested in Hollywood early on Thursday for
suspected drunk driving, but she said the incident had been blown out of
proportion and that she may have been speeding to get a late-night burger.
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Paris Hilton talks to reporters as she arrives
for an after party for the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, August 31,
2006. [AP]
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Hilton, 25, the heiress to
the Hilton hotel dynasty known for her hard-partying lifestyle, was pulled over
by police in Hollywood around 1 a.m. for driving erratically.
She told KIIS-FM radio in an interview on Thursday morning that she had been
to a charity fund-raiser party after a long day shooting a music video and had
just one margarita.
"I had one margarita (and) was starving because I had not eaten all day," she
said. "Maybe I was speeding a little bit and I got pulled over. I was just
really hungry and I wanted to have an In-N-Out Burger."
The star of reality show "The Simple Life," who had a surprise summer hit
with her first pop single "Stars are Blind," said that as usual there were a lot
of photographers around.
"I think they (the police) wanted to make a statement. They even said 'there
are a lot of people watching. We don't want them to think we are giving you
special treatment'," Hilton said.
Police said Hilton failed a sobriety test but she has not been charged with
any offense. That decision will be made by the Los Angles County District
Attorney in the next few days.
Hilton's publicist Elliot Mintz, who picked up his client from the police
station, said Hilton was affected more than usual by the one drink she had
because it was "one drink on an empty stomach after a full day's work."
"It's the absolute minimum amount of alcohol in your system that would
justify an arrest," he told reporters.
The incident made national headlines on Thursday.
"Everything I do is blown out of proportion," said Hilton, not known for
shying away from publicity. "It really hurts my feelings."
Mintz said Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of rocker Rod Stewart, was in
Hilton's Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren when she was pulled over.
Hilton shot to fame for an amateur sex video that showed up on the Internet
in 2003. Her party-going and complex love life have ensured that she has rarely
been off the celebrity radar since.
Earlier this year, a judge ordered Hilton to stay away from a Los Angeles
party planner who accused her of bombarding him with angry phone calls, shoving
him and threatening his life.
