The recent teen suicides as a result of gay bullying have spoken volumes to the general public — and to Hollywood royalty as well.
The self-proclaimed “Queen of All Media” promises a new rule over his pop culture kingdom.
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton made a special appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Oct. 13 to announce the end of his online bullying regime. A longtime gay youth advocate, Tyler Clementi’s death last month devastated Hilton. As he told MTV News, “I’m just beyond sad — I’m crushed.”
Hilton claims he had no idea people perceived him as a bully or hypocrite. “From now on I really want to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem,” Perez told DeGeneres.
Hilton is famous for giving celebs nicknames like Jennifer Aniston’s “Maniston,” Miley Cyrus’ “Slutty Cyrus,” and Kate Moss’ “Cokate.” Starting immediately, Perezhilton.com will no longer feature its beloved cruel nicknames or inappropriate squiggles.
Formerly known as PageSixSixSix.com, Hilton gained notice for his blog in 2005 and quickly rose to fame for his timely and juicy gossip. He also received criticism for publicly “outing” celebs like Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris.
Now he seeks approval from the gay community, claiming he won’t justify or make excuses for his indecent behavior anymore.
“I really did not look at myself as a bully … and I’m more than sorry for that,” Hilton told a skeptical DeGeneres.
Entertainment Weekly estimates Hilton’s blog currently receives nearly two million views per day. But will “nice” Perez attract the same number of viewers?
“People visit Perezhilton.com to read up on slanderous celebrity gossip,” junior Michael Kiley said. “We like to see our nation’s famous and elite Hollywood stars taken down a peg, and that is exactly what the site was for. In my opinion, if Perez only publishes ‘nice’ opinion pieces, his readers will start to lose interest along with his sponsors.”
Perez is known for playing favorites, but clearly has personal vendettas against teen stars like Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus, and “Gossip Girl’s” Taylor Momsen. To avoid being labeled a hypocrite, Hilton must learn to censor his online rhetoric and those white doodles.
In addition to revamping his website, Hilton also jumped on the celebrity bandwagon and made his own YouTube video for gay youth. The “It Gets Better Project,” created by columnist Dan Savage, provides an outlet for everyday people to give uplifting advice and words of wisdom to gay youths suffering from bullying.
Rob Thomas, Jewel, Kim Kardashian, Tim Gunn, Kathy Griffin, Sarah Silverman and Ke$ha are just a few celebs participating in the project.
His efforts seem sincere, but only time will tell if Perez will make it onto Santa’s “nice” list this year.
Photo credit: Warner Bros
