Paris Hilton belly dancingParis Hilton has said she considers herself an inspiration after building up her own brand “empire”.

The socialite is currently on tour with boyfriend Benji Madden and his band Good Charlotte and after spending time in South Africa last weekend, she helped judge the annual Miss Turkey beauty contest in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday night. She joined one of the contests in a belly dance on stage before crowning the winner Leyla Lydia Tugutlu at the ceremony.

Speaking at the event, she said that she ignores criticism that she’s superficial and a “celebutard”: “I don’t pay attention to lies because I am a good person.”

“I work very hard and I’ve built this empire on my own. I think this is an inspiration for a lot of girls out there.”

She added that she’s also not bothered that she is no longer set to inherit a substantial chunk of grandfather Barron Hilton’s $2.3billion fortune because she’s built up her own wealth: “It won’t affect me anyway.”