Paris Jackson Supports Paris Hilton, Says She Was Diagnosed with PTSD After Attending Similar School
Karwai Tang/Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Paris Jackson is standing in solidarity with Paris Hilton after the reality star opened up about the alleged abuse she suffered while attending a Utah boarding school.
Jackson, 22, shared several posts on her Instagram Story Friday, sharing that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after attending a similar school.
“I stand with @ParisHilton & all the survivors. #BreakingCodeSilence,” Jackson wrote. “Please swipe up to sign this petition to shut the school down & stop the abuse of children.”
Jackson continued, “As a girl who also went to a behavior modification ‘boarding school’ for almost two years as a teenager, and has since been diagnosed with PTSD because of it, and continue to have nightmares and trust issues, I stand with @ParisHilton and the other survivors.”
Paris Jackson/Instagram
Paris Jackson/Instagram
RELATED: Paris Hilton Opens Up About the Secret Terrifying Abuse She Suffered as a Teen
“The other girls I’m still friends with to this day that went to the boarding school with me all have the same symptoms of PTSD and nightmares and trust issues. This is child abuse. #breakingcodesilence. Let’s start with provo and keep going from there,” the singer added, referring to Provo Canyon School, the school Hilton attended.
In Hilton’s documentary, which premiered last month, she recalled being taken from her bed as if she was being kidnapped one night. She ended up at Provo Canyon School, where she said she and her peers suffered physical and emotional abuse and were regularly given mystery pills. When she refused to take them, she said she was sent to solitary confinement without clothing, sometimes for 20 hours at a time.
During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Hilton, 39, revealed that her experience at the school left her with “trust issues [and] PTSD.”
A post shared by Paris Hilton (@parishilton) on Sep 29, 2020 at 4:28pm PDT
RELATED: Paris Hilton and Drew Barrymore Reflect on Being Placed in Solitary Confinement as Teens
"I didn't deserve to go there," Hilton told Barrymore. "My mom and dad were just very strict and sheltered when I lived in L.A. I wasn't allowed to go on dates, couldn't wear makeup, couldn't go to a school dance. They just didn't want me to grow up. Then I moved to New York and that's when my life changed and I just was sneaking out at night and going to clubs and ditching school, but not doing anything terrible — just wanting to go out at night, and that really scared my parents, because they were so protective."
Hilton has since started a petition to “federally reform” Provo Canyon and other similar schools “to prevent future abuses and require all such facilities to provide qualified, professional, evidence-based treatment for youth.” As of Saturday, it had 88,396 signatures towards a goal of 150,000.
In a previous statement to PEOPLE, and also on its website, the school noted that it changed ownership in August 2000, after Hilton was a student. "We therefore cannot comment on the operations or patient experience prior to that time," the statement reads.
