Perez Hilton’s Family Issues Statement After Hospitalisation

Perez Hilton’s family has issued a statement following the media personality’s recent hospitalisation.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the celebrity blogger was receiving emergency medical care after a TikTok live-stream in which he appeared to be self-harming sparked concern.

A recent post on Perez’s blog, attributed to his “team and family” read: “Our family wants to once again thank everyone who has reached out with prayers, kind messages, and support for Perez. Your compassionate humanity during this heartbreaking time has meant more than words can express.

“This has been incredibly difficult and emotional for us, made even harder because very little information has been made available to our family. While we continue to wait for further updates, we remain hopeful.”

“We have also been able to confirm that Perez is able to communicate, which has given our family hope,” they continued. “We respectfully ask for your continued prayers, understanding, and grace as Perez continues to recover. We will share additional updates as we receive confirmed information and are able to do so.

“For now, we’re taking things one step at a time and keeping our focus where it belongs, on Perez and his recovery.”

“Again, thank you, truly, for all your support and compassion. We are so grateful,” they concluded.

Prior to that, they said in a previous post: “Many of you have reached out with concern for Perez, and we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and prayers. We can confirm that Perez is receiving medical care, and our family’s focus right now is on his well-being.

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

Perez – whose legal name is Mario Armando Lavandeira – first became an infamous public figure in the 2000s thanks to his celebrity news blog, where he frequently generated controversy due to his blunt, and often disparaging, commentary on the stars he wrote about.

In the 2010s, he said he’d be changing the tone of his writing, telling Ellen Degeneres on her daytime show that he wanted to “be part of the solution and not part of the problem”, after being called out by numerous celebrities.

He later told the New York Times: “What’s important for me is not being liked, but it is that people think I am no longer toxic to the world.”

In addition to his blogging career, Perez competed on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015, and is a father to a 13-year-old son and 11-year-old and eight-year-old daughters.

Over the last few months, Perez has experienced a number of health struggles, having been hospitalised with severe sepsis back in March.

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.