Perez Hilton is in hospital following an alarming livestream. So what actually happened?

Perez Hilton’s family has spoken out about the celebrity blogger’s hospitalisation earlier this week after he prompted a police response while sharing a TikTok livestream, during which he appeared to harm himself.

“We kindly ask that you respect Perez’s privacy, as well as the privacy of his family, during this difficult time,” the family’s statement read. “If and when we are able to share any updates, we will do so with everyone as soon as we can.”

According to the Miami-Dade Sherriff’s Office, authorities received reports from the public about a man “livestreaming acts of self-harm on social media”. Hilton, who remained unnamed in the Sherriff’s Office’s statement, was then transferred to a hospital on Tuesday (US time).

The incident has sparked criticism of TikTok, as fans asked why it took the platform so long to stop the livestream.

The 48-year-old only recently moved to Miami with his young family (the single dad has three children born via surrogacy) from Las Vegas, announcing the shift in June. The change came after a torrid few months for the blogger, who had been hospitalised in Las Vegas with sepsis earlier this year. But the shift turned out to be a tough one.

“I was in a bit of a spiral because I was overwhelmed with our move to Miami and I didn’t do these things that I know are good for me,” Hilton said in a YouTube video posted in late June.

The blogger’s TikTok account was suspended shortly after the livestream incident. But the footage, as well as screenshots of it, had already circulated online. Some fans alleged Hilton’s livestream ran for about 30 minutes before being picked up by the platform, triggering some to call the authorities out of concern for his safety. TikTok’s automated moderation systems allegedly flagged the livestream for removal within minutes of it starting; however, a US TikTok spokesperson told Deadline that a “moderator error” caused a delay in shutting the video down.

Hilton’s current condition remains unknown.

Who is Perez Hilton?

Hollywood was Hilton’s playground in the early 2000s. Born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr, the American-Cuban blogger’s website PerezHilton.com reshaped celebrity media well before TikTok and Instagram, transforming Hilton into a notorious media personality.

Hilton, whose assumed name riffs on 2000s socialite Paris Hilton, quickly built a name around his largely uncensored, candid commentary. His blog posts targeted a slew of major celebrities, from Adam Sandler to Jennifer Lawrence, often mocking their physical appearances, coining derogatory nicknames and even outing some gay celebrities.

“I am not some safe, cookie-cutter, queer-eye-for-the-straight-guy homo,” Hilton told the Los Angeles Times in 2006. “I am dangerous. I am going to push the envelope. I am going to be who I am: a loud, gay Latino that has opinions and in my own way, subserviently, I am trying to make the world a better place.”

Some of his most notorious posts involved Britney Spears, whom Hilton once described as an “unfit mother” after she hit a car with an umbrella. He also famously disputed Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, claiming it was a publicity stunt. This post was later deleted.

In 2010, he shared a link to a photo of a 17-year-old Miley Cyrus on X (then Twitter). The singer appeared to be nude in the image; however Hilton later claimed she was clothed. He also occasionally publicly speculated over the sexuality of certain celebrities, including Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris.

For years, his approach worked. According to The New York Times, PerezHilton.com was charging $US9,000 ($12,780) a week for a single advertisement, and around $US45,000 for its most expensive ad package by 2007. Hilton claimed he spent 17 hours a day posting on average 30 posts, and that the website was pulling in around 8 million readers a day.

“I’m like Madonna, I’m not afraid to offend,” Hilton told The New York Times in 2007.

Hilton’s decline and apologies

Hollywood has changed a lot since the noughties. As mental health and public accountability became increasingly valued, Hilton’s no-holds-barred approach against Tinsel Town’s darlings began to lose its shine. His website, once a mega popular money-making machine, began shedding readers.

Hilton never fully retreated into obscurity, exchanging blogging with podcasting and social media (his Instagram account has over 944,000 followers). But he never quite managed to reach the heights of his earlier glory days.

In 2010, he resolved to change after a wave of criticism when he contributed a message to the It Gets Better movement which had been launched following the multiple suicides of gay teenagers because of bullying.

“I’m going to do things differently on my website than I have in the past. I’m not going to call people nasty nicknames. I’m not going to go the mean route,“ he told Ellen DeGeneres.

“A lot of people have called me a hypocrite and a bully myself and a big one … From now on, I really want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem,” he said.

In his 2020 memoir TMI: My Life in Scandal, Hilton expressed contrition for some of his earlier work. “I have a ton of regrets, particularly because I now see that I never needed to be so mean or cruel,” he wrote.

That same year, he told Sky News that he had not expressed himself well when writing about Spears. “I didn’t lead with empathy and compassion, which thankfully it seems like most people now are understanding the severity of Britney’s situation. But I absolutely apologise and carry deep shame and regret.”

What happened this week?

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies attended Hilton’s home on Tuesday evening (US time) shortly after receiving calls from several members of the public about the blogger’s graphic livestream. Upon their arrival, they spoke with family members outside the house and confirmed Hilton was alone inside.

Authorities reportedly opted against direct engagement to minimise harm. Instead, they prioritised “de-escalation by creating time, distance, and opportunities for communication”. Hilton was then taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

Dante Rusciolelli, one of Hilton’s managers, told The New York Times on Wednesday that he had no additional information on his client’s condition. “Our focus remains on Perez’s health, recovery and the privacy of both him and his family during this incredibly difficult time,” he said.

Support for Hilton’s family has been provided by mental health professionals, per the Sherriff’s Office.

Hilton was previously banned from TikTok in 2020 for violating community guidelines. In response, he told The New York Times he was “very depressed” and that the platform had given him something to look forward to each day. His account was only reinstated in April this year.

He was also hospitalised for three weeks earlier this year with an ulcer and sepsis. He then reportedly underwent emergency surgery for deep vein thrombosis. It was during this experience that Hilton said: “God presented himself to me”.

The public’s response

According to The Guardian, a TikTok US spokesperson said Hilton’s livestream lasted approximately 15 minutes, though others claim it ran for at least 30 minutes. The platform’s automated moderation systems reportedly flagged the stream, which breached the app’s community guidelines, within minutes and referred it to the TikTok US moderation team for review. However, a “moderator error” caused a delay in the official take-down.

Several subsequent livestreams from Perez were then allegedly closed within 90 seconds. His account was banned, and law enforcement authorities were notified.

Many social media users have criticised TikTok for being too slow to action, with some accusing the platform of “promoting bullying”. One user even called for a class action suit against the app.

“Can we file a class action suit against TikTok for exposing adults and teens to that trauma…? No one should be ok with this,” they wrote on Instagram.

Amid the criticism is uncertainty around how to respond to such an incident. Some online users have admitted to struggling to reconcile their personal feelings about Hilton and his past actions with their feelings about his current condition and the toxic state of internet culture more generally.

“I saw it in real time, and as somebody that’s not a fan of his, all I can think about is, I have to pray for this man. He’s not mentally well. The internet has pushed him to his limit,” one user wrote on Instagram.

Ireland Baldwin, daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, also expressed her complex reaction to the news on her Instagram story, expressing sympathy for his family while acknowledging the pain Hilton once caused her own.

“Perez Hilton has publicly humiliated my family for years, sexualised me from a young age, commented on my weight and body (as a child), made unforgivable comments about people in my family … And has always been a despicable human being. But his children deserve better and a healthy father and I am so sad for all of them. I hope he gets the help he needs and heals,” she wrote.

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.