Perez demands apology over ‘faggot’ incident, then gives his own
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton chastised the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) yesterday for “criticising” his handling of the confrontation with Will.I.am that erupted on Monday night.
A video posted by TMZ on Monday showed Hilton call Will.I.am a “f**king faggot” during a violent outburst outside the MuchMusic Video Awards. The use of the homophobic slur caused GLAAD to criticise the blogger, arguing that his “vulgar” comments could “feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community”.
In response, Hilton told TMZ on Tuesday he was “saddened GLAAD chose to victimise me further by criticising me for how I non-violently dealt with a very scary situation that, unfortunately, turned violent.”
“While I doubt I will get an apology from GLAAD, nor do I expect one,” Hilton went on, “I would just hope people know how difficult it is to intellectualise a situation and think rationally when a thug disguised as a musician is screaming at your face and intimidating you.”
However, Hilton, who has been accused of simply wanting “mad attention” by the Black Eyed Peas singer, later issued a statement apologising for any offence his comments might have caused to members of the gay community.
“Words can hurt,” he wrote. “I know that very well, from both sides of the fence. The other night in Toronto, after feeling physically threatened by a verbally abusive Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, I chose the most hurtful word I know to hurl at him. I was in an out-of-the ordinary situation and used a word that I would not utter under normal circumstances.”
“I wanted to hurt him with the word I chose, not anyone else,” continued Hilton. “Unfortunately, the one who got hurt was me and, subsequently, a lot of other people.”
Hilton, who has made a career out of satirising and criticising celebrities on his blog, went on to say that his treatment by the media has left him shocked and disturbed.
“Several television and radio shows over the past couple of days echoed the sentiment ‘He had it coming’,” Hilton wrote. “Would they have said the same thing if I was a woman? Would I have ‘deserved it’ if I had been stabbed?”
Will.I.am’s manager was charged for the assault on the night of the incident.
