Kat Von D has claimed she suffered “traumatic” experiences whilst enrolled at Provo Canyon School.
The 38-year-old tattoo artist and model has revealed she went to the behavioural school in Utah when she was 15, and has spoken out about the alleged abuse she endured whilst enrolled at the facility, after being inspired by Paris Hilton’s recent accusations against the same school.
Speaking in a 23-minute video posted to Instagram, Kat said: "Watching Paris talk about some of her past trauma going to this school that her parents sent her as a teenager - I don’t like to call them schools because they’re not schools they’re f****** lockdown facilities - it just triggered so much s*** for me because it turns out I went to the same school.
"I was sent to the same place and I was 15 when I was sent and I spent my 16th birthday in there. I was there for a total of six months and they were definitely the most traumatic six months of my life.”
Kat alleges that whilst she was "spared of the sexual abuse and the physical abuse”, she “definitely saw” other teenagers subjected to it.
And the ‘LA Ink’ star described the school as “torturous”.
She added: "I had no idea it was gonna end up being that I was trapped for six months at this pretty crazy, torturous awful place.”
At the end of her video, Kat thanked Paris for “everything she’s doing” to bring attention to the alleged abuse faced by the students of Provo Canyon School, including her recent petition to have the school closed down.
Paris, 39, spoke about her time at the school in her YouTube Originals documentary ‘This Is Paris’, where she said she had regular "panic attacks" whilst at the school, and alleged she "felt like a prisoner" during her 11-month stay.
The ‘Simple Life’ alum also said she was "cut off" from her parents, and was unable to tell them what was happening because the staff would "rip up" her letters.
She said: "I didn't really get to speak to my family. Maybe once every two or three months. We were cut off from the outside world. And when I tried to tell them once, I got in so much trouble I was scared to say it again. They would grab the phone or rip up letters I wrote telling me, 'No one is going to believe you.' And the staff would tell the parents that the kids were lying. So my parents had no idea what was going on."
After coming forward with her allegations, Provo Canyon School claimed the school changed ownership in 2000 - which was one year after Paris left - so "cannot comment" on previous operations.
