While driving on the highway, the Oak Cliff teacher had a tire blow out. A few moments later, either sparks from the bare tire rim or an underlying electrical issue caused the back of her car to catch on fire.
“To the point where the whole driver side-back and the trunk was completely on fire,” Gonzalez recalls.
She pulled over and got out of the car safely, but her car and many of her belongings were left charred. Gonzalez noticed that in the back of her car, her Paris Hilton-branded pink tumbler cup survived. Making light of the situation, she filmed a short TikTok showing the burnt car and the intact cup.
“Paris, you wanna know something that’s hot?” Gonzalez said in the video. “My car just caught on fire and your cup survived. Can you please buy me a new car?”
Though initially posted as a joke, the video quickly became a viral sensation — it now has over 34 million views on TikTok.
Last week, Hilton commented on the TikTok to show her support, and Gonzalez received a private message from the Hilton-founded 11:11 Media saying a representative from the team would be flying out to Dallas on Friday to meet with her.@bibianagonzalez75 My car caught on fire today . Moral of the story is it’s totaled . One of the few things that survived is my @ParisHilton cup. Paris please help a girl out. #fyp #paris #hilton #parishilton #thatshot #literally #caraccident ♬ original sound - Bibiana Gonzalez
Gonzalez met with the 11:11 team at On Rotation Brewery, not knowing she was about to be in for the surprise of her life.
“I turned around and it’s Paris,” Gonzalez says. “It was something that I couldn’t even imagine.”
Gonzalez told us that she feels like Hilton raised her in a sense, as she grew up watching the media mogul in movies like 2005’s House of Wax and the iconic reality TV show, The Simple Life.
“It might sound crazy, but I felt like I saw an angel,” Gonzalez says. “She was wearing all white and had a whole filming crew and they had all the lights on her. She literally looked like an angel.”
But the surprises weren’t over. Hilton and Gonzalez walked outside to reveal a brand-new 2025 Hyundai Sonata for Gonzalez. On top of that, she received a complimentary three-day stay at any Hilton hotel suite across the country.
“It’s been crazy,” Gonzalez says. “Just today, I’ve already had like five or six different interviews. I don’t know how people do this. I’m over it.”
Gonzalez, now with 34,000 followers on TikTok, says she’s even had companies reach out for sponsorships. Perhaps one of the worst days of her life will serve as the catalyst for a career not dissimilar to Hilton's, or at the very least, give her a smoother ride to her day job.
“Ever since I was younger, I always wanted to be like Paris,” Gonzalez says. “She's an icon, you know? I’ve always looked up to her.”
