The Knark

Self-proclaimed ‘Queen of all Media,’ Perez Hilton (né Mario Lavandeira), has had a bit of a rough go this past week. Social networks are a buzz over the bloggers latest antics; a high profile spat, a few slurs, a public apology, and a controversial post regarding news of Michael Jackson’s death. With all this hoopla about the Gossip Blogger over the past 6 days, one has to ask the question: has Perez peaked? He has been on a non-stop ride to the top of the gossip game, but looks now like the worm may have turned.   

By now, most have heard how it started. Fergie, of the Black Eyed Peas, confronted Perez at a Much Music Video Award’s after party, ostensibly for writing cruel comments about her and her band on his blog. Perez, unsympathetic, rebuked her, and insisted he had every right to say (or doodle) what he pleased. Incensed, Fergie apparently tearily told band mate Will.I.Am of the encounter, who then allegedly confronted the Gossip Monger himself. The altercation between the two spilled onto the street outside the club, at which point Perez, in his own words, called Will.I.Am a “fucking faggot.” Yadda, yadda, yadda, Pezez gets punched by the bands manager, tweets for the police, and then cries about the whole incident on his website in an 11 minute vlog (which is totally unwatchable, so try this condensed version instead). 

So, back on the internets, many people became upset; not over Perez getting punched (which was actually kind of funny, since he is such a douche), but rather they were upset over his choice of words. Calling Will.I.Am a ‘fucking faggot?‘ Did he think that would go unnoticed? Because, for the past several months, Perez has been leading a major campaign against the likes of Carrie Prejean and others for their stance against gay marriage and gay rights. He lambasted Isaiah Washington, of Grey’s Anatomy, last year for using the f- word, and spent months calling for Washington’s dismissal from the show. So, when turned around and used the same derogatory language to attack someone himself, the backlash was swift and brutal. Calls for his immediate apology rang out (even G.L.A.D.D. issued a statement demanding he fess-up), but Perez refused to take back his words. Instead, he further defended what he said by issuing a statement in which he railed against the media coverage, which he felt portrayed him as the bad guy, and deserving of the violence and backlash (in his defence, the knives were out for him, but in the knives’ defence, Perez has been spewing his personal brand of vitriol all over the internets for four years - many had been waiting for this moment of weakness to come).  

Media scrutiny of his actions intensified, and Perez ultimately did issue a real apology of sorts (albeit too little, too late for most - and he still refused to apologize to G.L.A.D.D.). His next move was to launch a civil lawsuit against the B.E.P.’s manager (Polo Marino), demanding $25,000 in damages. In this 2nd statement, Perez acknowledged his wrong-doing, promised to do better, and offered to donate any judgement awarded in the case to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. In turn, the Foundation quickly released a statement of their own, not only refusing to be a part of the controversy, but also refusing to accept any of these ill-gotten funds. Something about getting a pay-day from anti-gay slurs rubbed them the wrong way (natch). 

The dust from this fiasco had barely settled when the next scandal broke. As news of Michael Jackson’s cardiac arrest started pouring into the media, Perez, as per usual, attacked Michael , accusing him of faking the whole thing, and instructing fans to demand refunds for tickets they had purchased to Jackson’s upcoming London concerts (in Perez’s defence, the post in question was quickly deleted once more details of Jackson’s condition became available - but you can see a copy of the text and photo-doodle here).

The Twitterati immediately leapt on this lapse in judgement, and made an extreme issue out of his extreme lack of taste and professionalism (not to mention humanity). Not only did an #unfollowperez hashtag become a trending topic on the micro-blogging service, but a solid war of Tweets broke out between Perez and Pete Wentz, Ashley Simpson, John Mayer, and others. The celebs called Perez out, not only over his MJ post, but over his entire career built on tearing people down. Perez was more than happy to spew back in self-defence, but the fight has since subsided, and he has taken to sending tweet-outs to his hardest, hard core fans almost non-stop ever since - damage control maybe? 

Damage control is definitely in order, as his brand image has taken a very public beating. Earlier this month, Perez had announced plans to launch a new site which would “focus on longer-form, more advertiser-friendly content” (translation: less penis doodles, more celeb-fluff). It was theorized this new site was meant to capitalize on the success on MSN’s recently launched, and flashily designed Wonderwall, which many consider an antidote to Perez’s brand of venom. The New York Times ran a piece on Wonderwall, touting its success in attracting big-bucks from Blue Chip advertisers, while steering clear of controversy and meanness of other gossip blogs. Apparently, big time companies do not want to be to closely associated with nastiness and smut. Go figure. If Perez plans to hang onto the advertisers he currently has (and reports say he is losing some of them already), he needs to effectively disassociate himself from the mess he got himself into this past week.  

So, what is a girl to do? Enter a (somewhat) kinder, gentler Perez Hilton? Perhaps… but for how long? Gawker.com posted a story today about Perez’s latest entries, pointing out how they seem to be missing some of his previous, shall we say, zing (hey, he even went so far as to post this pic of formerly mentioned object-de-ire Isaiah Washington). I doubt this softer side will last very long. Perez is circling his wagons for now, and once the spotlight has moved on, he will be back to his old tricks. I am sure of this because, frankly, that is what made him famous, and that is what his readers want. He is writing to the lowest common denominator, and as long as he has a willing audience, why should he stop? Brand fatigue or not, nay-sayers be damned! 

I only hope the likes of Fergie, Will.I.Am, et al. will stop giving his writing any credence by acknowledging it. The less said about Perez Hilton, the better. There is no need for anyone to stoop to his level. He is not a fair and balanced journalist; his website is a mere rehash of news from other sources, with his personal poison stamp on it. Perez is like school yard bully, in that he is a mean-spirited gossip monger who acts out his own low self esteem and poor body image by attacking celebrities. He did not deserve to get punched in the face, but, at the same time, his victims do not deserve what he doles out either. Words are powerful, and when you attack someone personally, you should not be surprised at their retaliation. He was lucky to get off as lightly as he did, and next time he should think twice about what he writes (and says).