Apr 7, 2011 08:27 GMT  ·  By

A few years back, before the Kardashian clan took over television and just about everything else, Kim Kardashian was mostly known as Paris Hilton’s sidekick and stylist. While the entire world may have forgotten about that, Kathy Hilton, Paris’ mom, certainly has it.

Fans must know that Paris and new BFF Brooke Mueller, Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife, are preparing for the release of their brand new reality show.

Since comparisons between Paris and Kim and their respective shows keep popping up (and they probably always will), Kathy is using the opportunity to remind the world that Kim owes everything to Paris, says a PageSix report.

Not only did Kim learn everything from her former friend, but she actually copied her in launching her career as a reality star – even down to the “leak” of that infamous tape, some would say.

“Mother lioness Kathy Hilton had her claws out Saturday night at the Monkey Bar defending Paris’ title as the ultimate queen of reality TV – and snarling that Kim Kardashian ‘used to work for Paris’,” PageSix writes.

At the event literally packed and crawling with the best of the best of reality television, Kathy made it a point of telling the world that Kim is – and will always be – second best to Paris.

“Kathy was going on about how Paris is the original reality star and all the others had her to thank for their success,” a source dishes for the e-zine.

“When Kim, who was once described as a stylist for Paris, was mentioned, Kathy brushed her off, ‘Oh, she used to work for Paris.’ Kathy said Kim copied every thing Paris has done,” adds the tipster.

At one point, Kathy was even telling people that Brooke “was nothing like Kim,” so there really was no danger of her trying to steal Paris’ thunder.

Contacted for comment by PageSix, Kathy downplays the whole thing – but still makes it obvious that the now great Kim did indeed once work for her daughter, the pioneer of celebrity reality television.

“I love Kim, by the way. Someone said, ‘Didn’t she work with Paris?’ I said, ‘Yes, she did before she was on her TV show’,’ Mrs. Hilton says.

“Another person said, ‘Paris made a lot happen for us in the reality business.’ I said ‘It’s true, she was one of the pioneers’,” Kathy adds.