Hotel heiress Hilton accused of slander
SM COURTHOUSE — Hotel heiress Paris Hilton has talked her way out of a lot of jams on her hit reality show “The Simple Life,” but the celebrity socialite may not be able to finesse her way out of a $10 million defamation lawsuit filed against her by actress Zeta Graff, who claims Hilton planted a bogus story in the gossip pages of the New York Post last summer.
During a hearing Tuesday, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg set a schedule for attorneys to conduct interviews with witnesses in anticipation of a Feb. 5 trial. In previous statements, Graff, who was once romantically linked to Hilton’s former fiancee, Paris Latsis, said she had no intentions of settling the case. “(Hilton) made a number of false statements about me, and she repeatedly lied under oath during her recent deposition,”
Graff said. “I look forward to her explaining all of this to a jury.”
“I look forward to her explaining all of this to a jury.” — ZETA GRAFF ACTRESS
Attorneys for both sides spent less than 10 minutes in court Tuesday setting a pre-trial schedule. Judge Rosenberg ordered all depositions, including an interview with Graff, to be completed by Jan. 19.
Graff, who had a small role as a princess in the 1997 film “The Fifth Element,” claims Hilton conspired with her spokesperson to spread a false story about their June 30 run-in at the London nightclub Kabaret.
The article that ran in gossip columnist Richard Johnson’s Page Six section on July 2 said Graff was seen attacking Hilton on the club’s dance floor in a jealous rage over Latsis, a Greek shipping heir. At the time, Hilton, 24, was engaged to Latsis, 22. According to reports, Latsis dated Graff for two years before hooking up with Hilton and having a “Z” tattoo removed from his wrist.
When Graff saw Hilton and her former beau dancing to Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana,” the Post reported, she went “berserk” and appeared to lose her mind, just as the song’s heroine Lola does over the loss of a lover.
The article goes on to report that Graff tried to snatch a $4 million diamond necklace off Hilton’s neck, and had to be physically restrained by security guards before she was booted out of the club.
An unnamed source is quoted as saying she witnessed Graff screaming and trying to strangle Hilton. The source went on to say that Graff, who is reportedly in her mid-30s, was “a woman who is older and losing her looks, and she’s alone. She’s very unhappy.”
A Hilton spokesperson is quoted as telling Page Six that “Paris and Paris just want to be left alone. This woman keeps turning up wherever they go, almost like a stalker.” Hilton is quoted telling Page Six that she would not press charges, and just wants Graff “to go away.”
Graff said that it was Hilton who came up to her and whispered in her ear,“You are a f--ing bitch. I’m going to destroy you,” according to the model/actress/producer’s complaint.
Graff alleges that she asked Hilton what she was talking about, but Hilton did not respond, instead sauntering over to a promoter at Kabaret to demand that Graff be removed from the club.
Hilton’s accusations that the actress attacked her and tried to rip the jewels from her neck are not supported “by even a scintilla of truth,” Graff’s complaint states.
“Ms. Hilton, her spokesman, and others acting on her behalf concocted a baseless story about Ms. Graff and... fed it to the gossip columnists at the New York Post for immediate publication, and then watched as media outlets picked up and republished the malicious falsehoods and outright fabrications to millions of people around the world,” the suit says.
As a result, “Ms. Graff’s reputation and good name, as well as her present and future earning potential, have been irreparably harmed throughout Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere around the world,” the complaint states.
In addition to the $10 million, Graff is asking that punitive damages be awarded.
British media outlets The Sunday Mail and The People ran brief stories about the alleged catfight, but then later published formal apologies to Graff, announcing that the incident never occurred, and that they had agreed to pay Graff damages.
Rob Shuter, Hilton’s former publicist, testified in a sworn deposition that Hilton had called him shortly after the altercation in the club and instructed him to plant a story in the Post.
She was the sole source for the story,providing quotes by “unnamed sources,” Shuter said, including one quote which read,“It’s one thing to lose your boyfriend to Paris Hilton... it’s another to find her wearing your family jewels.”
Graff is the ex-wife of diamond heir Francois Graff.
Attorneys from both sides are expected back in court Dec. 12 to discuss the deposition schedule.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 6, 2006. Read the original PDF.