Paris Hilton Calls Britney Spears 'Forever the Superstar,' Praises Her 'Unwavering Spirit' for Time 100
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Paris Hilton discussed her admiration for friend Britney Spears resilience amid adversity in a profile for Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2021 issue.
"When most people think of Britney Spears, they think of Britney the superstar. She's iconic. A legend. One of the most influential artists in pop-music history," Hilton, 40, said. "When I think of Britney Spears, I see the sweetest soul. A mother. A friend. A fighter. A young woman who grew up in the tabloid culture of the 2000s, when the paparazzi machine was accepted, unforgiving and cruel."
Hilton then touched on the singer's conservatorship — which Britney's father Jamie Spears recently filed to end — and said, "Yes, we've watched Britney break records and deliver to the world hit after hit. But behind the scenes, she survived more than a decade of trauma and abuse from her conservatorship." (Britney's father and conservator Jodi Montgomery have both separately denied abuse claims and insisted they have her best interests in mind when making all decisions on the singer's behalf.)
"Our hearts broke when Britney spoke about her pain," she said of the pop star's explosive court hearing in June, where Britney expressed her desire to end the conservatorship publicly for the first time.
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/WireImage Paris Hilton (L); Britney Spears
Hilton continued, "Despite the darkness that has surrounded her life, Britney embodies joy and shares the light of her beautiful heart, forever the superstar."
"So we stand by her and root for her as she turns pain into purpose, her unwavering spirit stronger than ever," the Simple Life alum said.
Chris Polk/FilmMagic Paris Hilton and Britney Spears
Last week PEOPLE confirmed Britney's father, 69, filed to end his daughter's conservatorship after 13 years.
According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Jamie, stated in his filing that the pop star may longer need a conservatorship — something his daughter's attorney Mathew Rosengart told PEOPLE is a "massive legal victory" for the singer.
After stepping down as the conservatorship of her person in late 2019, Jamie has remained in charge of his daughter's finances as a conservator of her estate.
Britney "is entitled to have this Court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required," the filing stated.
getty; Alex Berliner/Shutterstock Britney Spears, Jamie Spears
"Ms. Spears has told this Court that she wants control of her life back without the safety rails of a conservatorship," Jamie's filing said, adding, "She wants to be able to make decisions regarding her own medical care, deciding when, where and how often to get therapy. She wants to control the money she has made from her career and spend it without supervision or oversight. She wants to be able to get married and have a baby, if she so chooses.In short, she wants to live her life as she chooses without the constraints of a conservator or court proceeding."
The petition, did, however, defend the initial establishment of a conservatorship.
"The conservatorship has helped Ms. Spears get through a major life crisis, rehabilitate and advance her career, and put her finances and her affairs in order," the petition said of the decision. "As Mr. Spears has said again and again, all he wants is what is best for his daughter."
Prior to Jamie's petition to end the conservatorship, Hilton weighed in on Britney's comments during the June hearing in which the singer said in part, "The Paris Hilton story on what they did to her at that school. I didn't believe any of that either — I'm sorry. I'm an outsider."
"And maybe I'm wrong, and that's why I didn't want to say any of this to anybody to the public," added Britney. "People would make fun of me or laugh at me and say, 'She's lying, she's got everything, she's Britney Spears.' "
Hilton spoke on her podcast and said that despite how Britney's comments sounded, the singer "didn't mean it in that way."
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"She meant when she saw it, she couldn't even believe it," the heiress said, referring to her own alleged abuse she endured at boarding school as a teenager. "What she said was, when people hear that, they're like, 'Oh, it's Britney Spears' [or] 'It's Paris Hilton. They have these perfect lives. Who is gonna believe [them]? I didn't even believe Paris — who's gonna believe me?' "
Of Britney's conservatorship, Hilton said, "Dealing with it as a teenager was hard but I can't imagine, still, as an adult, after working your entire life."
"She's built a huge empire; she's a legend, she's an icon, she's a mother. She's amazing and she has these people controlling her money, her life," she continued.
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Hilton also said during the podcast that she was "proud of" her friend "for speaking up and using her voice," captioning a snippet from the episode on Instagram, "I will always support and love Britney. She is so kind and sweet, and she deserves her freedom. I've been saying #FreeBritney for a long time, and I will keep saying it until she is free."
"We all need to use our voices to protect victims of abuse," the star added. "She is so incredibly brave and an inspiration for speaking her truth. I know personally how hard it is to come forward to tell your story, and so I hope Britney knows that she is so loved and supported by the world right now."
