Paris Hilton returns to Utah 'troubled teen' facility to support others who allege mistreatment

SPRINGVILLE, Utah (AP) — Paris Hilton returned Monday to the Utah boarding school where she said she was abused as a teenager, the latest stop in her yearslong campaign calling for reforms to what is commonly known as the troubled teen industry.

This time Hilton was speaking in support of two families who filed lawsuits Monday alleging that their children were mistreated at Provo Canyon School, the same facility where Hilton spent almost a year in the late 1990s. The hotel heiress and media personality alleges staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing.

“I dreamed of becoming strong enough, successful enough and powerful enough to come back and be the hero that I needed when I was a little girl locked inside,” Hilton said. “Today is that day, and I am not backing down.”

The school is now under new ownership, and the administration has said it can’t comment on anything that came before the change, including Hilton’s time there.

Hilton, 45, called on Utah licensors to shut down the school. She has testified about her experiences there in Congress and state legislatures around the U.S., helping pass laws to protect teens in Utah and 15 other states. Utah has long played an outsized role in the troubled teen industry, a network of private, for-profit residential centers for children with behavioral issues.

State health officials imposed temporary restrictions on Provo Canyon School in May, saying the staff did not seek immediate medical care for a student with serious injuries. The restrictions, which include a prohibition on accepting new clients, are set to end Thursday.

Aleah Corona, the mother of the injured student, alleged in Monday's lawsuit that the school did not immediately help the 13-year-old after another resident slammed his head on the ground. The boy ended up with a fractured jaw and a traumatic brain injury, she said. Another family alleged their daughter had severe stomach pain and nausea for more than a week before the school sought proper medical attention. She then experienced kidney failure, their lawsuit alleges.

The school said it could not comment on specific cases due to patient privacy laws.

“At Provo Canyon School, the safety, dignity, and well-being of those entrusted to our care are our highest priorities,” the school said in a statement.

Hilton strutted toward the campus in Springville with her middle fingers raised, telling The Associated Press she refused to be intimidated by a place where she once feared for her life every day.

She warned that parents, like her own, can fall victim to misleading marketing tactics that portray teen facilities as safe.

“These places really just pray on parents who are just looking for help for their children,” Hilton said. “I wasn't a bad kid, I was just sneaking out at night, getting bad grades. I had ADHD, so I wasn't doing well in school, but this was definitely not the place that I should've been sent. My parents had no idea.”

Signage for the Provo Canyon School in Springville, Utah, is pictured Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Paris Hilton calls for a crackdown on the so-called troubled teen industry, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Paris Hilton appears alongside fellow survivors of residential teen treatment facilities, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Paris Hilton, left, stands alongside Aleah Corona, the mother of a student injured at the Provo Canyon School, during a news conference Monday, June 15, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Paris Hilton protests outside the Provo Canyon School, where she says she suffered abuse as a teen, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Springville, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong put his name in the Chicago Cubs' record book next to Hall of Fame slugger Hack Wilson — and then nearly ruined the celebration at Wrigley Field.

Crow-Armstrong completed the first cycle by a major leaguer this season with a seventh-inning single Monday night, then was promptly picked off first base by Colorado Rockies reliever Brennan Bernardino in a one-run game.

“My excitement was a little short-lived,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell quipped after his team scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 win.

Crow-Armstrong, who was a single short of the cycle Saturday in San Francisco, hit a leadoff home run in the first inning, tripled off the wall on almost the same trajectory in the third and doubled down the right-field line in the fifth.

When he came up again to lead off the seventh, the 24-year-old said he was more prepared for the moment than he might have been earlier in his career, or even earlier this season.

“Earlier, it probably made me a little nervous," Crow-Armstrong said. "I felt like I ‘had to’ instead of ‘I get to' hit in this really cool moment with this crowd of 40,000 pulling for me. I think I'm learning to use that to my advantage instead of me shaking in my boots when I'm up there and wanting to get the job done so badly. It's also a regular thing at Wrigley. That happens a lot."

With both Crow-Armstrong and the crowd fully aware of what was at stake, Crow-Armstrong lined a 1-1 fastball from Bernardino to right to finish the 13th cycle in Cubs history and only the second since 1993.

Just two Cubs center fielders have hit for the cycle since 1901: Crow-Armstrong on Monday and Wilson on June 23, 1930.

Crow-Armstrong was asked what that sort of history means to him.

“I know it’s a rare feat," he said. “It’s hard to answer questions like those when the game just ended and I’m processing a lot. Maybe I’ll have a better answer tomorrow.”

Crow-Armstrong also added a key sacrifice fly in the eighth to cut the Rockies' lead to 4-3.

“I absolutely put up great at-bats tonight and I’m proud of the production that I’ve helped have over the past few weeks,” he said. “But you saw it tonight: The game’s not over until it’s over. I did everything I could to help the team. But I also had a real lapse in focus and that really could have hurt us tonight. That’s what I’m talking about. Not going to dwell on that. Something so simple as someone gets in your ear and says that can’t ever happen again, and it can’t ever happen again.”

Crow-Armstrong has a 19-game on-base streak dating to May 26, hitting safely in 18 of those games. He's batting .402 with seven doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 12 RBIs during that span.

“Watching him every day, he's a player who overcomes your imagination,” Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga said through an interpreter.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates after hitting a single to complete the cycle during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong waves to fans after hitting a single to complete the cycle during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong watches his solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a single to complete the cycle during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)