Paris Hilton is finally speaking directly to the claim that Ghislaine Maxwell once tried to recruit her for Jeffrey Epstein, and she is not buying it.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, the 44-year-old media personality was asked about the long running rumor that Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and fixer, tried to single her out after seeing her at a party in the early 2000s. Hilton dismissed the idea aside, stating she had no memory of meeting. “I don’t even remember ever meeting her,” she told the outlet, continuing, “I’m such a good clickbait name.”
The rumor resurfaced in the 2020 docuseries Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, where British journalist Christopher Mason, a former friend of Maxwell, described an encounter at a party years earlier. Mason claimed Maxwell became focused on Hilton, then a rising teen socialite, and allegedly said Hilton would be “perfect for Jeffrey” before asking a friend to “introduce” them.
The docuseries also featured an old photo of Hilton, Maxwell and Donald Trump at a fashion event in September 2000, when Hilton was 19. The image has been recirculated for years on social media as speculation about those tied to the Epstein’s network intensified, often placing Hilton at the center of a story that had nothing to do with her.
Paris Hilton with Ghislaine Maxwell 👀. pic.twitter.com/1gdr5jbMJN
— Seeker of Truth (@TheHumanLead1) August 22, 2025
Hilton, who has opened up in recent years about her own experiences with abuse and exploitation, seemed intent on moving the conversation away from sensationalized headlines. By dismissing the Maxwell claim as clickbait, she signaled how often her name is dragged into scandals simply because of her visibility in early 2000s pop culture.
Meanwhile, the record of Maxwell’s crimes is well established. In 2021, she was convicted in of sex trafficking and related charges for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse underage girls. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison the following year. According to the Department of Justice, Maxwell participated in Epstein’s abuse of minor girls from at least 1994 through 2004 while being fully aware the victims were under 18.
Maxwell is currently serving her sentence at Federal Prison Camp Bryan, a low security women’s facility in Bryan, Texas, following her transfer from a higher security federal detention center. Her transfer was a controversial move as it came after she had a meeting with Trump’s deputy attorney Todd Blanche.
In interest in the Epstein case has spiked again after the release of his emails as lawmakers continue debating the release of additional Epstein related documents. A push in Congress to force the disclosure of unclassified files has reignited questions about the network of political, business and entertainment figures who once crossed paths with Epstein and Maxwell.
At the same time, new batches of court records in several civil cases have drawn fresh attention to Epstein’s long list of associates and the lingering gaps in the public narrative. As those documents continue to surface, Hilton’s remarks land in the middle of a renewed national conversation about who knew Epstein, who enabled him, and how far the fallout will extend.
