Denise Truscello/Getty Images for BOA Steakhouse Las Vegas
Perez Hilton reached out to Britney Spears before his mental breakdown
Perez Hilton, the celebrity blogger who built one of the most-read gossip sites in internet history by targeting celebrities with cruel and often outing-based coverage, had been making amends to some of those he wronged before a mental health crisis last month.
In a July 14 podcast interview with former Fox News host Sean Hannity, Perez Hilton described himself as an “attention addict” who has been carrying significant guilt over his past behavior, and claimed he reached out to celebrities such as Britney Spears and Khloé Kardashian in an attempt to apologize for how he covered them over the years.
Perez Hilton had been reaching out to celebrities he wronged — including Britney Spears and Neil Patrick Harris — before a mental health crisis
Hilton, real name Mario Lavandeira, was hospitalized on August 4 following a severe mental health crisis that saw law enforcement and medical personnel respond to his South Florida home after he appeared to engage in self-harm during a disturbing TikTok livestream in which he could be seen covered in blood and using an object to repeatedly cut himself.
While Spears was experiencing a very public mental health crisis in the early 2000s, Hilton relentlessly targeted her on his website and even sold T-shirts reading “Why couldn’t it be Britney?” after Heath Ledger died in 2008.
“Well, according to the intermediary that relayed what I wrote to her … I reached out to Khloé Kardashian, and she responded back. She was very kind. Some people don’t respond back, and that’s fine,” Hilton said of reaching out to Khloe Kardashian.
Hilton also noted that he contributed to Neil Patrick Harris’s memoir as part of making amends for having outed him before the actor had come out publicly. Hilton had done something similar with NSYNC member Lance Bass, too.
“I had made amends with him [Harris], and he asked me to write something in his memoir. So, I wrote a little something in there and he was very, very gracious,” Hilton recalled.
Despite his noted history of aggressive tabloid practices, Hilton’s family asked that people “respect Perez’s privacy” in a statement on his website.
If you or anyone reading this is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text at 988.