Perez Hilton on How He Justified Celebrity Takedowns: ‘Attention Was My Drug'

The celebrity blogger will appear on “Red Table Talk: The Estefans” to discuss his controversial past of belittling celebrities

Perez Hilton
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The penultimate episode of “Red Table Talk: The Estefans,” which drops Thursday on Facebook, will tackle “cancel culture” and put celebrity blogger Perez Hilton in the hot seat as he addresses his controversial past. 

Hilton, 43, gained popularity in the early 2000s for his gossip website which would sometimes belittle celebrities like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. 

In a preview clip from the upcoming episode, host Gloria Estefan, her daughter Emily Estefan and her niece Lili Estefan question Hilton and the way he used to run his blog. 

“There were human beings on the other side of your stories and we have to call a spade a spade here,” Emily Estefan tells Hilton. “You said some pretty hurtful things.”

He nods and agrees, “Oh, absolutely.”

Gloria Estefan chimes in and asks, “Did you feel powerful when you did those things?”

Hilton says that the word “power” did not resonate with him “because that would imply that I can force people to do things and I can force people to think a certain way.”

He added, “I could have influence, but I like to view it more like opportunity. I had the opportunity to share and people have the opportunity to receive.”

When Lili Estefan pushed back on him justifying his disparaging posts, Hilton further explained how he viewed his blog as a way of “shining the light on celebrities that get it right and those that get it wrong.” 

Emily Estefan wondered if Hilton excused his gossip writings because he believed they were a part of the celebrity lifestyle. 

“That’s one of the many talking points that I would tell my brain to program it, to justify my behavior,” he replied. “I was a drug addict and attention was my drug. I knew what I was doing was bad and I kept doing it and I kept being rewarded for it.”

The episode will also feature YouTube personality Gabbie Hanna who calls out Hilton for his lack of regret.

Hanna and the Estefans later discuss Hilton’s history of publicly outing celebrities and their sexualities on his website. 

Last week, singer Lauren Jauregui appeared on the show and said Hilton “definitely outed” her when she was 15. She recalled Hilton sharing a Facebook link that included photos of her kissing her girlfriend at the time. 

“I felt like my own process was violated,” Jauregui said.

Although he will speak about the incident on “Red Table Talk: The Estefans,” he told People that he is “not sorry nor remotely remorseful.” 

“I’m genuinely sad that she was bothered by that, (but) I’m not gonna fake an apology,” he said. “It was her fans that caused this photo to go viral. By the time I commented on it, it had already gone viral. It wasn’t like I was given this piece of information or a photo and I was the first person to share it with the world; it was already trending by the time I chimed in.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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