Celebrity Blogger Gets Earful Following Gay Slur
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Poor Perez.
After Perez Hilton's slur-laden reaction to an alleged assault by the manager of the Black Eyed Peas, even former allies of the celebrity blogger have turned against him.
Officials at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) have called on Hilton to apologize for the "vulgar anti-gay slurs" he made in a video following a confrontation with manager Liborio Molina.
But Hilton — who became a de facto spokesman for gay rights following his marriage equality question to former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean — is insisting he's the one due an apology, not GLAAD.
"I am saddened GLAAD chose to victimize me further by criticizing me for how I non-violently dealt with a very scary situation that, unfortunately, turned violent," Hilton said in a statement to FOXNews.com. "While I doubt I will get an apology from GLAAD, nor do I expect one, I would just hope people know how difficult it is to intellectualize a situation and think rationally when a thug disguised as a musician is screaming at your face and intimidating you."
Hilton, a former GLAAD employee himself, posted a Twitter message on Sunday after he claimed he was assaulted by a member of the Black Eyed Peas' entourage outside a party following the MuchMusic Video Awards in Canada. Hilton later admitted in another post to calling Will.i.am a "f**got," saying it was the worse thing he could think of to call the singer at the time. He also called the singer "a f***ing coward," and added that he would have had more respect if Will.i.am had punched him in the face himself. Molina, meanwhile, has reportedly turned himself into Toronto police in connection to the assault
"I am just very fortunate and grateful that nothing more serious happened to me," Hilton's statement to FOXNews.com continued.
Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs at GLAAD, denounced Hilton's usage of the "vulgar anti-gay slurs that a feed a climate" of hatred and intolerance toward homosexuals.
"For someone in our own community to use it to attack another person by saying that it is, quote, ‘The worst possible thing that thug would ever want to hear,’ is incredibly dangerous," Robinson said in a statement issued Monday. "It legitimizes use of a slur that is often linked to violence against our community. And it sends a message that it is OK to attempt to dehumanize people by exploiting anti-gay attitudes.”
GLAAD spokesman Richard Ferraro declined to respond to Hilton's statement on Tuesday.
"Right now, we don't have any reaction to that statement," Ferraro told FOXNews.com.
Robinson, who called on Hilton's comments to be condemned in the "strongest possible terms," said the group has called on Hilton to apologize.
Leonard Jacobs, editor of The Clyde Fitch Report, an arts and politics blog, said any racial or sexual slur is offensive, but questioned Hilton's standing within the gay and lesbian community.
"Not only is he not helping the gay cause in any way, more pertinent is he's not helping his own cause any either," Jacobs told FOXNews.com. "By doing it, he essentially dissipates whatever credibility he might have had not only as a media figure, but as an openly gay man."
Jacobs, who is also openly gay, said he never considered Hilton a spokesman for gay rights. If given the chance, Jacobs would suggest that Hilton stick to "doing gossip," he said.
"Did it offend me? I don't really care what Perez Hilton says or thinks," Jacobs said. "He's the celebrity version of a heroin addict."
Other gay rights activists contacted by FOXNews.com — including the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force — declined to comment for this story.
Hilton's account of the incident garnered roughly 5,000 comments on his Web site, some of which criticized the blogger's behavior.
"Verbal abuse is just as bad as physical Perez," ickkyperez wrote. "How do you not know that! You are a mean spirited person. Violence is never the answer and neither are violent words."
Another post suggested that Hilton "hire more security," while another accused the blogger of hurting people "WAY more" than injuries he suffered.
"You're right. Violence is never the answer," lucy17 wrote. "BUT words can cause more damage then being punched. Get over it."
Meanwhile, Will.i.am posted his own online video response early Monday, indicating that fellow Black Eyed Peas member Fergie had approached Hilton at an after party at the club Ultra and asked what the blogger had against their group. Fergie then relayed the back-and-forth to Will.i.am, who described the blogger as being "rude."
At a subsequent afterparty at the club Cobra, Will.i.am said he and Hilton exchanged words. "So I go up to him and say, 'Hey, can you do me a favor, Perez? ... Can you not be so blatantly rude to our group on your Web site? That's just wrong — you don't have to be disrespectful,'" Will.i.am said in his video statement. "He said, 'I don't respect you.' I was like, 'What? OK, if you don't respect me that's cool.'"
Will.i.am said Perez called him "a f**got," at which point, "the fans get all crazy and start on Perez Hilton. I'm just sitting there minding my own business waiting for a car."
