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Paris Hilton once allegedly pointed at Vin Diesel while the 1998 war action drama Saving Private Ryan was playing in the background of a 1999 Hollywood party and said she passed the opportunity of dating him, as he was “black.”
Trigger warning: This article mentions racism. Readers' discretion is advised.
Author-journalist Neil Strauss mentioned this in his 2011 book Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead, where he shared a series of candid interviews with Hollywood personalities, including Hilton. As per Strauss’ revelation in his book, Paris Hilton had reportedly said:
“I can’t stand black guys. I would never touch one. It’s gross.”
Recently, an X (formerly Twitter) user with the handle @alexissTyler shared the controversial anecdote from the book, which has garnered enough traction online. In fact, netizens are now calling out Paris Hilton for being a racist.
Vin Diesel played the role of Private Caparzo in Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 epic war movie directed by Steven Spielberg. It was set in Normandy, France, in 1944, during the Second World War. The film revolved around a group of American soldiers led by Tom Hanks’ character Captain John Miller on their mission to search for Private James Francis Ryan, played by Matt Damon, and bring him back home safely, following the deaths of three of his brothers on the battlefield.
While the world now recognizes Vin Diesel as the star of the Fast & Furious franchise, he delivered one of his career-best performances in Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. In it, he played the brief but significant role of Private Adrian Caparzo and gave the film its much-needed emotional touch in under 4:37 minutes of screen time, as per Esquire.
As per the source, Vin Diesel was “a good, solid, dependable background character” and stood out for giving a fellow soldier a pep talk about “brotherhood,” recovering a Hitler Youth knife, or warning a new guy about saluting Tom Hanks.
However, he is perhaps best remembered for saving a little French girl from the clutches of the Nazis, at the cost of his own life, and delivering the dialogue “It’s for my dad, it’s got blood on it…” as he tries to hand over a pre-written last note for his father back at home, waiting for him to return, before succumbing to war injuries.
Paris Hilton earns online backlash for allegedly calling Vin Diesel “black”
According to a March 2011 article by LA Weekly, author, journalist, and ghostwriter Neil Strauss met media mogul, socialite, TV personality, model, actress, and singer Paris Hilton at a 1999 Hollywood party where she allegedly consumed ecstasy and openly talked about her personal life, including getting a breast augmentation at 14, dreaming of getting featured on the cover of Playboy, and her views on black men.
It was perhaps during this meeting that Hilton told Strauss about the time he went out with the actor from Saving Private Ryan (by pointing at Vin Diesel on the screen in which the film was playing), which he mentioned in his 2011 book Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead.
In an excerpt from the book, Neil Strauss wrote how Paris told him that she went on a date with “that guy last night.” When asked “Which guy?" she reportedly pointed at Diesel and said how, in the middle of making out, she realized that “he was black and made an excuse and left.”
Not only that, but as per Neil’s revelation, Paris confessed that she was unable to “stand black guys” and would never even “touch one” as he found them “gross.” Strauss’ account also added that Hilton asked him whether Vin Diesel looked "black" to him. When Neil asked back, “How black does a guy have to be?” Paris allegedly responded:
“One percent is enough for me.”
Recently, the anecdote from the book resurfaced on Twitter and since then has created a stir, with many slamming Paris Hilton for being racist. Here are some of the reactions from the comment section of @alexissTyler’s tweet.
For those unaware, apart from the Paris Hilton anecdote, Strauss’ 2011 book also contained interesting excerpts, such as the time when he allegedly went shooting with Ludacris, bringing Lady Gaga to tears, and going diaper shopping with Snoop, as per The Vibe’s 2011 article on the topic.
It is also noteworthy that, ahead of the anecdote, Neil Strauss put some kind of disclaimer in his book, which read as follows: “Maybe she said what follows for provocation and shock value. Maybe she didn’t. You decide…”
The 56-year-old Vin Diesel was born in Alameda County, California as Mark Sinclair and later raised in New York alongside his fraternal twin Paul by his mother Delora Sherleen Vincent, and adoptive father Irving H. Vincent.
While his mother is white and has English, German, and Scottish roots, Vin Diesel has never known his biological father, but as per Briefly, he was of mixed race. Meanwhile, his adoptive father is an African American.
