Paris Hilton Reveals Her Real Voice, Says She's Been Pretending To Be A Dumb Blonde

With the release of her new documentary, Paris Hilton has introduced the world to the “real” Paris.

The YouTube production, This Is Paris, contains some shocking revelations about the socialite’s past. But for some, the most surprising part was discovering that the early 2000s version of Paris was, in her own words, “a character.” Some followers were especially surprised when they first heard her “real” voice!

For reference, here’s a classic sample of Simple Life-era Paris:

Now, here’s a clip from this week, an Australian interview that had fans freaking out:

As she says in the clip, in a very normal, non-trademark voice:

“This entire time, I have been playing a character, so the world has never really truly known who I am. The real me is actually someone who is brilliant, and I’m not a dumb blonde — I’m just really good at pretending to be one”

To be honest, the tone sounds pretty similar — but it’s missing that vocal fry and confused inflection fans have come to expect from the Paris character. But what did you expect? Reality from reality TV??

Many fans agreed they “never really truly known who” she was, with Twitter users going as far as calling the reveal a “betrayal.” Some of the comments included:

“just found out paris hilton was playing a character this whole time i think i’m about to mentally shut down”

“2020 is really too much for me. THE BETRAYAL”

“Hearing Paris Hilton’s real voice is kinda therapeutic for this year’s events…”

“I am tired of this year what chu mean paris hilton was acting dumb all this time”

Now, if you’ve been paying attention to Paris in the last few years (or even if you were really paying attention way back when) it’s not exactly a revelation that she isn’t the “dumb blonde” she played on TV. In fact, generally speaking, it’s probably good practice to assume most celebs are putting on a persona in the public eye.

(Speaking of reality TV stars who crafted a fake persona, there were also plenty of reminders that the reality star was a Donald Trump supporter — and as many Americans still fail to realize, the luxury and success shown on The Apprentice was also largely faked for TV! The guy was actually a major punchline among real business owners when the show began!)

What’s interesting about the 39-year-old’s documentary is how she’s pulling back the curtain on building this kind of celebrity “brand” — and how it can start to feel like a trap. Asked why she chose to spotlight this truth now, Hilton said:

“I just felt like it was time for the world to finally know who I was. I feel like I’ve been through so much, and [there are] so many misconceptions and just preconceived notions about me. … Also, for my legacy and what I wanted to be remembered for. I don’t want to be remembered as some airhead. I want to be respected for the businesswoman that I am.”

The heiress was quick to call herself “brilliant” and take pride in the empire she built through playing that character, but she also admitted guilt over inspiring some of the worst parts of social media culture. In the documentary, she explained: