Kim Kardashian West and Paris Hilton on TV projects that show their serious sides: TV press tour - OregonLive

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – It’s not unusual for a wide range of celebrities to appear at Television Critics Association press tour panels, but a day that includes both Kim Kardashian West and Paris Hilton is a bit out of the ordinary.

Both of the personalities were on hand, however, on Saturday to talk to journalists and critics about projects that are more serious than what most people would typically associate with either Kardashian West or Hilton.

Kardashian West discussed “Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project,” a two-hour documentary coming to Oxygen that’s an outgrowth of the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star’s advocacy for Alice Marie Johnson.

In a campaign that included lobbying President Donald Trump to grant clemency, Kardashian West helped free Johnson, a grandmother who was serving a life sentence for a first-time, non-violent drug offense.

“Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project,” which premieres at 7 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 7, explores four cases of incarcerated individuals whose situations illustrate issues in the justice system.

The documentary is described as following Kardashian West’s efforts to gain freedom for prisoners who “have been wronged by the justice system.”

In the panel discussing the show, Kardashian West said her efforts are part of an interest in the law. She traced that back to when she would sneak into the office of her late father, Robert Kardashian, when he was part of O.J. Simpson’s murder trial defense team and, Kardashian West recalled, look at evidence she shouldn’t have been looking at.

After years of watching crime shows and feeling like perpetrators should be locked up forever, Kardashian West said that meeting prisoners, and learning more about their circumstances, helped broaden her understanding about how such crimes occur.

When asked about her motives for pursuing sentencing reform, and criticisms that she was doing this for publicity, Kardashian West said, ”I’m very used to criticism, so nothing really fazes me. I’m one of those not-human souls that can really deal with it.”

Adding, “No, I’m not doing it for publicity,” Kardashian West said she is “extremely compassionate,” and spends “20 hours a week away from my family, and my kids, every single day. I just completed my first year of law school. Aced a test recently.”

Kardashian West was joined on the panel by others involved in the documentary and in her advocacy work, including Jessica Jackson, co-founder, with CNN commentator Van Jones, of #CUT50, an organization dedicated to reducing the prison population.

Racial disparities in criminal justice sentencing also helped influence Kardashian West’s decision to get more involved in these cases, she said.

“I’m raising four black children that could face a situation like any of the people that I help,” she said. “Just to know that I could make a difference in my children’s lives, and their friends’ lives, and their children’s lives, by helping to fix such a broken system, that is just so motivating for me.”

Asked about whether she wants to communicate her advocacy for justice reform to young fans who follow her, Kardashian West said, “I absolutely do. I talk to my kids about it, and they’re extremely young,” adding that she also talks to her younger sisters about her work.

“I think everyone is really interested in justice reform right now,” Kardashian West said, adding that she is “proud of the younger generation for really being so knowledgeable and caring so much.”

“Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project” premieres at 7 p.m. PT Sunday, April 7, on Oxygen.

Paris Hilton talked about "This Is Paris," a documentary about her that begins streaming on YouTube in May, at the Television Critics Association 2020 winter press tour, in Pasadena, California. (Photo: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

“This Is Paris”: Just as Kim Kardashian West spoke about how she has interests that go far beyond the gossipy image people may have of her, heiress Paris Hilton talked about a new documentary that promises to reveal her private issues and experiences.

“This Is Paris” begins streaming in May on YouTube. When she was first approached about doing the documentary, Hilton said, “I was very reluctant to do it. And I didn’t really want to take the meeting, because I wasn’t ready to really show myself.”

Though her life and global travels look glamorous, Hilton said, “it does get lonely sometimes.” The “blonde airhead” that the public may identify as Hilton isn’t really her, she said.

“I’ve been playing this character for so long,” she said. “Even during this film, I really discovered a lot about myself and who I really am, and I wanted the world to see there are a lot of misconceptions. And I’ve been judged based on a character that I created in the beginning of my career. And now I feel like it’s finally time that people see who the real Paris is.”

Hilton didn’t specify what experiences “This Is Paris” may reveal, but she said the documentary is different than anything she’s ever done.

The director, Alexandra Dean, followed Hilton for the documentary to show her “real life,” Hilton said, not the character she’s been playing.

“With this, I really just wanted to pull the curtain back, and show my real life, and talk about things that are very hard to talk about, and things that I’ve experienced in life that I’ve never discussed before. It was an amazing experience, but also very scary, even watching the film for the first time. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t really — can we cut that out? I was kind of freaking out. But they have total control over the whole film, so everything is in there.”

Dean, who was also on the panel, recalled how she was initially reluctant to do a film on Paris Hilton. But the more she learned, the more she thought a documentary about Hilton was a logical next step following “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story,” in which Dean explored the life and career of Lamarr, who became a Hollywood star because of her beauty, but who was also an inventor, with an interest in technology.

“I felt like a lot of people wanted to talk about misunderstood women, wanted to talk about women in America today, and I wanted to pick up that conversation and continue it,” Dean said.

Of her persona as the flighty, pampered heiress from the reality show, “The Simple Life,” Hilton said, “People thought that’s who I really was, so sometimes it is annoying that people assume that I am…(that) blonde airhead that I was playing on the show.”

Though Hilton said she was “in on the joke” when she was doing “The Simple Life,” she added, “I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. But basically, before the show started they said, We want this to be ‘Green Acres’ meets ‘Clueless,’ and we want you to play into the character of, you don’t know what you’re doing.’ Kind of just having fun with it in a way. Like, obviously, I know what Walmart is.”

Hilton said she wanted to “entertain the audience,” though “I didn’t realize what a huge success the show would be, and that I would continue shooting it for five more years. So, I just had to continue doing this character over and over again. And I’m also naturally a very shy person, which most people won’t believe either. So, I think with that character was kind of like a mask to hide behind because I was a very shy person. So, when I would go into this character, I felt kind of like I was acting, and just having fun with it.”

“This Is Paris” will be much different, Hilton said. “It’s very emotional, this movie. It’s very raw, it’s very authentic,” she went on, apologizing for being a little nervous.

“In this film, I really discuss things that I’ve never discussed before," she said. "I also show me as a businesswoman, and what I’ve created and how hard I work with my empires. And I hope that people are really just going to see who I truly am.”

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

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