Paris Hilton should return up to $1 million she was paid for the 2006 box-office bomb “Pledge This!” because she didn’t plug the film enough, an attorney for the movie’s investors told a federal judge Thursday.
The 29-year-old hotel heiress, actress and self-promoting businesswoman refused nine requests for print and broadcast interviews she should have given under her contract, said investor attorney Bryan West.
“We paid her $1 million, and we’re entitled to get at least a portion of that back,” West told U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno. “Part of what actors do is promote their films.”
But Hilton’s attorney, Michael Weinsten, said she took part in several high-profile publicity events — including an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival — and that the contract didn’t require her to do interviews when she was busy on other projects.
Weinsten added that Hilton also had the right to approve or reject any proposals or offers.
“Paris Hilton is a brand. That is her value, and how she makes money,” he said. “She did substantial publicity.”
Hilton, who testified last summer at a trial over the dispute, did not attend Thursday’s hearing. She said previously that although dissatisfied with the finished “Pledge This!” cut, she wanted the college sorority romp to succeed and worked hard to make that happen. Yet the film only made $2.9 million.
Moreno previously rejected the investors’ effort to sue Hilton for $8.3 million in damages, which included the $1 million she was paid for her acting and as executive producer. But he left open the possibility that she might have to repay some or all of that fee as restitution if she did not fulfill her publicity obligations.
Moreno did not indicate when he would rule. The case centers on determining the value of the appearances Hilton did against the cost of those she rejected, which ranged from a proposed appearance on NBC’s “Tonight Show” to phone chats with several British publications.
“The question is, what is the value of what she did do? Because she did do something,” Moreno said. “How do I quantify it?”
Hilton was sued by attorney Michael Goldberg, a court-appointed receiver for a now-defunct entertainment company that was the major investor in “Pledge This!” The company, Worldwide Entertainment Group, was shut down as a suspected $300-million Ponzi scheme by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Goldberg is attempting to recoup losses for some 3,300 investors in the company.
Both sides acknowledge Hilton’s ability to move a product. Goldberg said Thursday that sales of the “Pledge This!” DVD spiked last summer amid publicity surrounding the trial, although he did not provide exact sales numbers.
Kamala Harris Receives Chairman’s Prize At NAACP Image Awards
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said after receiving the NAACP's Chairman's Award. "The American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people."
The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
Harris, defeated by Trump in last year's presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general.
In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump's actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America's future.
"Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask 'What do we do now?'" Harris said. "But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path."
Other winners of the Chairman's prize have included former... Read More