NEW YORK:

Simon Cowell, the American Idol judge, has defended troubled socialite heiress Paris Hilton, saying she doesn’t deserve jail.

“I feel a bit sorry for Paris to be honest with you. Does she deserve to go to jail? No, I don’t think so. But she is a survivor,” news-week.com quoted him as saying.

Hilton has been sentenced to 45 days in jail for driving with a suspended licence.

“I’m not justifying what she did and I think she knows she made a mistake, but there are worse things in the world and I just feel a bit sorry for her,” he added.

Cowell also suggested that she could “come and stay with me for 45 days”.