He then asks another mundane question: “New York’s exciting, though, isn’t it?”

“I was born here,” she answers.

“Yeah, good for you,” he says quickly.  And then in rhythm, “How’d you like being in jail?” 

The audience, as you can see here, goes crazy.

Paris takes Assault #1 pretty well, smiling and saying, “Not too much.”

But Letterman was only warming up, and he continued pounding away with one question after the next.  He even turned it to her Hollywood pals: “And then they locked up your friend Nicole.” She nods yes. “But she was in for only 45 minutes,” he says.  “How does that work?  How can someone only be in for 45 minutes?”

“I don’t know,” says Paris.

After going through the prison dietary regiment, he continues: “What is it you did?  Do you know what you did?” She laughs uncomfortably and offers no answer.

Finally she reaches the end of her patience, putting it as jovially as she can:  “I’ve moved on with my life,” she says, “so I don’t really want to talk about it anymore.”

After the audience laughs and applauds, Letterman presses on. “See, this is where you and I are different, because this is all I want to talk about.”

Paris Hilton, you clearly see, is not accustomed to someone defying her.  Sure, she went to jail, but facing David Letterman is a whole different issue.  “Did you make any friends while you were in jail?” he asks. “I’m not answering any more questions about it,” she replies, saying, “I’m here for my clothing line, and my movie, and my perfume, I’m not here to talk about that.”

Paris still doesn’t get it: It’s only because of “that” that she continues to draw our interest.  Letterman, as he can do so well, voices what we’re thinking.  Sorry, Paris, one of the funniest Late Show interviews in some time was conducted at your expense.  But not to worry: life as a punch line will likely draw enough attention to your clothing line, movies, and perfumes to keep those “businesses” thriving for at least another year.