Hilton says she'll no longer 'act dumb'

Paris Hilton says she is locking up her 'dumb' act and throwing away the key. Hilton revealed her new outlook in a weekend phone call to Barbara Walters from a county jail medical ward where she is serving out a 45-day sentence for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

"I used to act dumb. It was an act. I am 26 years old, and that act is no longer cute," Hilton said during the call, according to an account posted by Walters on ABC's Web site.

"It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me."

After spending three days in jail last week, Hilton was briefly released to electronically monitored home confinement Thursday for an undisclosed medical condition. An outraged judge sent her back to jail Friday.

According to ABC News, the call came after Hilton's mother, Kathy, phoned Walters. During the conversation, Paris Hilton called her mother on another line, found out her mother was talking to Walters, and then called Walters collect. All jail inmates are required to call collect.

Hilton reiterated assertions that jail has changed her: "Now, I would like to make a difference. ... God has given me this new chance."

In a related development, the Rev. Al Sharpton met with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on Monday and told reporters afterward that Hilton's situation exemplified an unfair legal system.

"People who cannot afford the best lawyers, people who cannot afford the best doctors are not going to get an early release," Sharpton said.

Baca has denied giving any special treatment to Hilton by reassigning her to home detention.

Also on Monday, a claim against the county was announced by a black woman who has a prosthetic leg and was recently an inmate at the same jail where Hilton was held last week.

Her attorney, Gloria Allred, said Pamela Richardson, 51, also "had serious medical issues" but was treated much worse than Hilton. A claim against a government entity is a precursor to a lawsuit.