Perez Hilton asked to apologise over ‘gay slur’

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Gay celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has been criticised by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for using a homophobic slur against singer and producer Will.i.am.

According to a video posted on Hilton’s website, the blogger called Will.i.am, a member of The Black Eyed Peas, a “faggot” and a “thug” after he was allegedly assaulted by the singer’s manager outside the MuchMusic Video Awards.

A TMZ video appeared to show Hilton shout “you’re not a f**king artist… you’re a f**king faggot” at the singer during an altercation with Will.I.am’s manager Polo Molina. A fight then apparently broke out.

The initial story broke as Hilton, real name Mario Lavandeira, wrote on his Twitter: “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.”

Toronto police confirmed that Hilton made an assault accusation. Molina has reportedly been charged with the assault.

However, Will.i.am responded to the story by releasing his own video in which he said the accusations were ‘lies’ and accused Hilton of simply wanting “mad attention”.

In a later video Hilton explained: “I made the split-second decision, that I was gonna say what I thought was the worst possible thing that thug [Will.i.am] would ever want to hear, which was a handful of assorted F-bombs.”

In a statement, GLAAD senior director of media programmes, Rashad Robinson, said: “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 legitimises 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 dehumanise people by exploiting anti-gay attitudes.”

Scroll down to see the TMZ video of the incident.


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