Just when the ratings go up and things start to calm down for the Hilton sisters, up pops Rick Salomon again.

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According to US Weekly, on Saturday, December 13, Nicky Hilton -- younger sister of Paris, the star of Fox's The Simple Life -- was enjoying The Multimillionaire Celebutante Life at the trendy and oh-so-fashionable West Hollywood night spot Shelter Supper Club (which is only open on Thursday-Saturday from 8 PM - 2 AM, the better for the beautiful people to see and be seen), when she suddenly found herself face-to-face with Salomon.

Salomon, Shannon Doherty's ne'er-do-well estranged husband, is currently suing the Hilton family (including Nicky) for defamation with regard to the infamous tape of himself and Paris "doing the nasty," and his out-of-court meeting with Nicky would not be described as an attempt at reaching a settlement. Said one spectator, "Rick confronted her, and they started arguing."

As the battle escalated, Don Thrasher -- the former friend of Rick's who actually sold the tape to an Internet porn site (perhaps on Salomon's instructions) and who has been alleged to be a thief by Salomon -- intervened on Nicky's behalf. We note that apparently Shelter is L.A.'s only trendy club, since all of these pseudo-celebrities wound up in it.

As Salomon and Thresher started shoving each other and looking ready to begin moving beyond simple pushing and lunging, Thrasher suddenly whipped out a canister of pepper spray and shot some of the noxious substance into Salomon's face. Following that, club security became involved and both men quickly ended up outside on the Sunset Strip -- although it seems likely that Thrasher was in a better mood about it than the "Tabascoed" Salomon. At least Salomon will always have Paris ... on tape, that is.

Speaking of Paris, for those wondering, Nicky was alone on her jaunt because her sister was appearing on NBC's Saturday Night Live that night, and the rest of the family (mother Kathy, a former second-rateactress in her own right, father Rick, and younger brothers Barron (14) and Conrad (9)) had gone off to New York to support Paris (whom her mother calls "Star") during her "humorous" discussion of the sex video with SNL's Jimmy Fallon. The NY Daily News has a partial transcript of the double-entendre-laden conversation:

FALLON: Is it hard to get into the Paris Hilton?
PARIS: Actually, it's a very exclusive hotel, no matter what you've heard.

FALLON: Do they allow double occupancy at the Paris Hilton?
PARIS: No!

FALLON: Is the Paris Hilton roomy?
PARIS: It might be for you, but most people find it very comfortable.

FALLON: I'm a VIP. I may need to go in the back entrance.
PARIS: It doesn't matter who you are. It's not gonna happen.

Supposedly, Paris' cameo appearance was the brainchild of her crisis publicist Dan Klores, the man best-known for encouraging Paris to cancel her scheduled appearance on David Letterman's talk show. Klores felt that an appearance in a controlled setting, such as the scripted SNL, would be the best way for Paris to laugh off her "horny hotel heiress" lifestyle. Uh, right.

For the holidays, mom Kathy told gossip columnist Cindy Adams that the entire family, including both Paris and Nicky, would spend a quiet time at a friend's house in Hawaii over Christmas, then jet back to the Hamptons for New Year's Day. Activities? "We'll just rent videos," according to Kathy.

We wonder why it would be necessary for the Hiltons to rent any videos. They could probably just watch Paris' "home movies" during their vacations.