Paris Hilton thanks Sarah Silverman for apologizing for past joke

March 5 (UPI) -- Paris Hilton says she was "really moved" by Sarah Silverman apologizing for a past joke at her expense.

The 40-year-old socialite, television personality and businesswoman responded Thursday on her This is Paris podcast after Silverman, 50, apologized for joking about Hilton's jail sentence at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.

"I was just shocked when I read [an article about the apology] at first and pleasantly surprised," Hilton said. "And then I went and listened to her podcast, and she basically made like an eight and a half minute apology to me."

"She was so genuine and so sweet and it really moved me. I felt emotional hearing it," she added. "And I could tell that she really did mean what she said when she apologizing."

Hilton then accepted Silverman's apology and addressed the actress and comedian directly.

"Thank you. I really, really appreciate you doing that. I know it's difficult for anyone to apologize, and for someone to do that really means a lot," she said.

Silverman had made the joke the night before Hilton reported to jail to begin her 45-day sentence. Hilton called the remark "so disgusting and so cruel and mean" during Monday's episode of her podcast with her sister, Nicky Hilton.

"To sit in the audience with her just literally publicly humiliating me, being so mean, so cruel [about my prison time], I was sitting there wanting to die," Hilton said in the previous episode.

Silverman apologized on her own podcast, The Sarah Silverman Podcast, Thursday.

"The crowd went bananas, and while I was thrilled at the success of my monologue, I remember spotting her in the audience, I really do, and I remember seeing that look on her face and my heart sank," Silverman recalled. "There was a person under there."

Silverman said she previously wrote an apology letter to Hilton but "never heard back." She then apologized and expressed her remorse to Hilton again.

"I felt it the second I saw your face that night. It feels terrible to know that you have hurt someone, and it's important to make it right, so I hope this does that," Silverman said.