Heiress Tells Barbara Walters She's Changed

Jun 12, 07:57 AM

Current Headlines: The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Paris Hilton says she will no longer "act dumb."

The reality TV star and relentless publicity-seeker spoke with Barbara Walters by phone Sunday, a day after releasing a statement saying she hoped the media would focus on "more important things" than her 45-day jail sentence, according to ABC News' Web site.

"I'm not the same person I was," ABC quoted Hilton as saying. "I used to act dumb. It was an act. I am 26 years old, and that act is no longer cute. It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me."

According to ABC News, the call came after Hilton's mother, Kathy, phoned Walters. During the conversation, the 26-year-old socialite, who is in a maximum-security detention center, called her mom on another line, found out her mother was talking to Walters, and then called Walters collect. All inmates are required to call collect.

Hilton has been saying that she is changed by her jailhouse experience, and she repeated that theme with Walters: "I know now that I can make a difference. ... I have become much more spiritual. God has given me this new chance."

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