THE EXIES TAKE ON PARIS HILTON, HELP TO GATHER 50K SIGNATURES TO SEND HER TO JAIL
LOS ANGELES, CA (May 14, 2007) – Artists with real talent are starting to speak out on Paris Hilton’s attempt to avoid jail time. Scott Stevens, vocalist/ guitarist/songwriter of the L.A. based band, The Exies, is taking on Hilton and her well-publicized antics in the wake of her recent 45-day sentence for driving with a suspended license, the result of a previous DUI arrest.
The band has taken the case against the socialite to their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/theexies) in response to an online petition campaign (which, according to several published sources, is being backed by Hilton herself) that urges California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to offera Canadian Pardon for her. The Exies are soliciting signatures to a counter-petition that would force the publicity-hungry heiress to serve the full sentence.
“Paris is nothing more than a glorified internet-porn star who has gotten a free ride from the media,” says Stevens. “She has absolutely no discernible talent other than that of self-promotion, and shouldn’t receive privileged treatment in this case, in which she’s quite obviously broken the law and deserves to serve the punishment she’s been sentenced to. People like John Mayer, Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson have real talent. Paris Hilton’s only talent is to draw attention to herself and away from real artists.
“It was the N.Y. Times giving this topic coverage that made us mad as hell,” continues Stevens. “When even respectable papers like the N.Y. Times start giving coverage to this farce, it’s time for the artist community and those that support us to stand up and say ‘enough.’ We hope that our support of the on-line petition to demand that she not be let off delivers a message to the media that it’s time for everyone to come to their senses and stop obsessing about someone as irrelevant as Paris Hilton.”
Stevens notes that the counter-petition has already been signed by 61,000 people supporting its call for Paris to serve jail time, compared to less than 26,000 who have signed on to back Hilton.
Stevens contrasts the 2005 case of Tony Thompson, who was convicted by the state of California to a three-strikes sentence of 30 years to life in prison for stealing cases of baby formula to feed his two hungry and anemic young daughters with that of Paris, “a spoiled rich girl whose main claim to fame is starring in an amateur porn video” as a particularly egregious miscarriage of justice.
“This poor guy was only trying to feed his kids and he got 30 years to life,” says Stevens, “while Paris threatened people’s lives by driving under the influence, and is complaining that she’s being treated unfairly because of her celebrity.”