Obviously, it is never funny when someone gets hurt, but it's hard not to scoff at the drama surrounding the Perez Hilton / Black-Eyed Peas battle that occurred earlier this week in Toronto.
The incident began after the MuchMusic Video Awards where Hilton (Mario Lavandeira) and the band both made appearances. During the post-award party at Ultra nightclub, Black-Eyed Peas band member Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson allegedly confronted Perez about things he had written about her on his blog. Following the conversation, Hilton left Ultra and went to the Cobra nightclub, where a short time later he was again confronted by a member of the Black-Eyed Peas.
William "Will.i.am" Adams allegedly approached Perez at Cobra and said, "I need you to never write about my band on your website again." What happened next remains sketchy; however, according to a video statement Perez made after the incident, he told Will.i.am, "You're a f-g. You're gay and stop being such a f---ot." According to Hilton, that was the worst possible thing that thug [Will.i.am] would ever want to hear."
The confrontation then continued outside, where, according to Hilton, the band's manager, Polo Molina, "clocked" him in the eye and punched him "two-three times."
Almost immediately afterwards, Hilton began tweeting about the incident, claiming, "I was assaulted by Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards. I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke."
In his own video statement, Will.i.am claims that a fan punched Hilton. He also questioned why Hilton, who claimed to have been terrified by the event, took the time to Twitter about it instead of calling police.
"Sounds like somebody needs mad attention and is not concerned about his health," Will.i.am said.
Regardless of what actually happened, it will now have to be sorted out in court, as Molina faces one count of assault. He is expected to appear in Toronto's Old City Hall court on August 5.
While I disagree with the attack on Hilton (if it did occur) and feel Will.i.am was acting childish, I find it odd that someone who claims to be an advocate of gay rights would use such an offensive anti-gay slur.
Hilton's remarks are also interesting, considering he was extremely vocal about Isaiah Washington, a cast member of the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, demanding that he be fired for allegedly making homophobic remarks.
Apparently, Hilton feels that his own sexuality allows him to make anti-gay remarks, something that has angered a variety of celebrity news websites.
"I've questioned whether Lavandeira's true commitment is to gay rights or page views for awhile now—he's routinely tried to 'out' celebrities who he believes should come out of the closet and has exploited real gay rights leaders, like Dustin Michael Black, for the sake of traffic," writes Amelia McDonell-Parry at thefrisky.com.
The incident has also caught the attention of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation [GLAAD]. The group released a statement about it yesterday. It reads in part:
"These are vulgar anti-gay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community. 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. 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."
Yesterday's release is not the first time that prominent members of the gay community have criticized Hilton. In an article at AfterEllen.com, contributing writer Kim Ficera writes:
"I feel sorry for him. If his juvenile behavior is his shtick, I think it makes him a much more pathetic figure, and one the gay and lesbian community should not support... If we support behavior like Hilton's, we applaud shallowness, arrogance, rage and invasion of privacy, and risk becoming what we despise."
Despite being chastised in the media, Hilton apparently has no plans to apologize for his remarks, as is evident in a statement he made to TMZ.com today.
"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.
According to parade.com, Hilton is now planning to sue (who saw that coming) both Will.i.am and Molina for the alleged beat-down.
"Perez Hilton intends to take immediate action to make sure that Mr. Molina and Will.i.am understand very clearly that physical violence is unacceptable on any level," Hilton's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told the website.
Whatever the outcome of Hilton's alleged assault and lawsuit, it appears that this self-professed "Queen of All Media" is being a bit of a drama queen.
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Photo Credits: Perez Hilton: Charley Gallay/WireImage/Getty Images; Black Eyed Peas: George Pimentel/WireImage/Getty Images
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