We thought the story of the Paris Hilton sex tape couldn't get any stranger. We were wrong.

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The NY Post reports that the tape, made three years ago with a then-19-year-old Paris romping under the bedsheets with then-30-year-old Rick Solomon, the estranged husband of actress Shannen Doherty, is the hottest viewing item in Hollywood. According to an unnamed public relations person, "everyone in Los Angeles has a copy," including Ms. Doherty and her lawyer, who may be looking to use it in future divorce procedings.

One person who was enthusiastic about the tape, and who was willing to talk about it on the record, was Pamela Anderson, star of her own amateur sex video made with her then-husband, rock drummer Tommy Lee. The silicone-laden vixen told Access Hollywood, "I saw it by accident, but two thumbs up. It made me feel better that someone else is out there, taping themselves." However, we're certain that Pamela's endorsement didn't make the Hilton family feel any better about the fix that Paris, the co-star of Fox's upcoming The Simple Life, had gotten herself into.

But if Paris actually had any yearnings for the simple life, the next twists made sure that it wouldn't come soon. Another NY Post story reports that Solomon, who operates an adult clothing-and-entertainment business named Beverly Hills Pimps & Hos (gee, it's hard to figure out why Shannen Doherty is separated from him, isn't it?), has hired noted "pit bull" celebrity lawyer Marty Singer to represent him. Singer, who is famous for his use of bluster, wild threats and high-profile lawsuits that are quickly dropped after a scandal has died down on behalf of his clients, is performing his usual act on Solomon's behalf.

Singer told the Post that he would sue the Hilton family for defamation of his client's reputation. Uh, excuse us for asking, but how can a person who operates a business named Beverly Hills Pimps & Hos have his reputation sink any lower?

Singer also claims that his client -- who had been reported to want to prove the tape existed to punish Paris for calling him a "liar" when he talked about it -- was not vindicated by the tape's release but instead had "suffered substantial damage." We wonder how having everyone know that he not only distributes amateur party videos of scantily clad women but also starred in one with one of Hollywood's hottest - if ditziest - socialites will harm his business, but we guess we'll need to wait for the lawsuit (if it ever gets filed).

More interestingly, Singer claims that Rick Solomon had nothing to do with the sale of the tape to Marvad, the adult-entertainment concern that planned to sell it through its SexBrat.com Website ... and which apparently was the source of the 3.5-minute-long "teaser" from the 45-minute-long tape that is available on several file-sharing services. Instead, Singer alleges that a friend of Solomon's who had access to the tape stole it and sold it, without any authorization from Solomon, and that Solomon has now filed a police report detailing the theft.

However, the friend, Don Thrasher, told a very different story to the TV show Celebrity Justice. According to Thrasher, he was acting solely as Rick Solomon's agent. Thrasher said that Solomon was involved in the duplication of the tape and also gave him instructions on how to peddle the footage to Marvad for use on SexBrat.com. Thrasher says that he got a check from Marvad in his own name for $50,000 and he cashed it ... but he also says that he gave $25,000 in cash to Solomon and only kept the remaining $25,000 for himself, as per his earlier agreement with Solomon.

In the meantime, Paris Hilton and her lawyers also contacted Marvad. They allegedly claimed that she may have been underage when the tape was made and/or that she may have been incapacitated (by booze, drugs, or some combination thereof) at that time -- and thus was incapable of giving valid concent to the taping. While Paris may indeed not have been capable of giving legal concent, she certainly didn't look at all "incapacitated" during her raunchy sex romp with Solomon -- if she had, the tape wouldn't be attracting so many A-list viewers in Hollywood.

In the end, though, Paris' claims, coupled with Singer's theft allegations and Thatcher's conflicting tale, finally pushed Marvard past the "point of no return" with regard to the tape. Marvad and SexBrat.com told AVN ("Adult Video News") that they have given up on their plans to market the footage. In cooperation with Paris and her lawyers, they are planning on suing Thrasher, the only party with whom they had a contract. Of course, the hope of Paris' legal team is that Thrasher brings in Rick Solomon as a co-defendant, which would require him to state in an official filing that he was acting as Solomon's agent -- and would mean that either Thrasher or Solomon (who, after all, has supposedly filed a police report about the theft) would have to be guilty of filing a false official document.

Meanwhile, the socialite-turned-sex-nymph at the center of all the controversy continues her wild partying in Australia, where she and younger sister Nicky were brought in by Australia's Channel Seven to add some "glitz" to Melbourne Cup (and Melbourne Mercedes Australian Fashion) Week, according to The (Melbourne) Age. The {Melbourne} Herald Sun reports that Paris was getting up-close and personal with two reality-TV stars from Oz: Courtney Act and Rob Mills, both fallen finalists from Australian Idol.

Paris, Nicky and Courtney have been constantly hanging out together, leading Courtney to be dubbed "the third Hilton." However, the "romance" between Paris and Millsy has attracted the most public attention; in the words of the Herald Sun, "it seems every man in the country is giving a big thumbs up to Millsy for snaring one of the world's richest and most photographed women."

Uh, we have news for our friends in Australia. Judging by the "Paris Tapes," don't look for Millsy to have "snared" Paris for very long. However, if he'd like a memento of his relationship with Ms. Hilton, we'd advise him against hiring a videographer.