Hilton, 44, is best known for her 2000s reality TV series The Simple Life alongside Nicole Richie. The series followed the pair as they left their glamourous lifestyles in LA and traded it for a normal life where they lived with a normal family and tried out different jobs.
Hilton spoke to the Press Association about the cruel treatment she received as a young women and the impact it had on her.
"Back then, the media was so cruel to myself and to a few other women, and it just felt like harassment. It was entertainment for people back then, and the things that people would say to us would not be accepted today," she said.
"I think it has changed a lot but I can see that some people just haven’t got that memo and are continuing it. There definitely needs to be work done but at least it is evolving in a more positive way for people," she continued.
Hilton explained that she used her 'dumb blonde' persona as "armour". She said: "The character and the persona that I created was an armour and a shield to really protect me, because I’d been through so much and nobody knew that, and I felt like I just was playing this character, so that I wouldn’t really have to go deep or go into what I had been through, because I wasn’t ready at that point."
"Now I kind of pull out the character sometimes, not as a protection, more as just the silly fun side of me. People know that it is a character, I love that people know that there is a lot more to me than that, and a lot of a deeper, more intelligent person. It’ll always be a part of me and I think a lot of people in the entertainment industry have their character, or kind of like the mask that they put on when they’re entertaining," she continued.
