Perez Hilton Hospitalized After TikTok Self-Harm Livestream
Concerned viewers alerted authorities after the celebrity blogger appeared to harm himself during the broadcast from his Florida home.
Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton was hospitalized on August 4 after a disturbing TikTok livestream prompted deputies with the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office to respond to his home in Westchester, Florida.
The video, which TikTok later removed, appeared to show Hilton bleeding and holding what appeared to be a knife, NBC News reports. Viewers pleaded with him and asked for his phone number so they could alert authorities.
Graphic clips from the livestream soon began circulating on social media.
Deputies were dispatched to Hilton’s home after receiving numerous calls from concerned viewers who reported seeing a person livestreaming “acts of self-harm” on social media, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office told People magazine.
The sheriff’s office initially said that deputies from its Crisis Response Unit, assisted by licensed mental health professionals, were working to de-escalate the situation using crisis intervention techniques.
“In many incidents involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis or actively harming themselves, deputies prioritize de-escalation by creating time, distance, and opportunities for communication,” the sheriff’s office spokesperson told People. “Unless there is an immediate threat to others, slowing the situation and utilizing crisis intervention techniques can reduce the likelihood of a suicide-by-cop encounter and minimize the risk of injury to the individual, deputies, and the public.”
Police later reported that the individual had been “safely recovered” from the home and taken by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to a local hospital for medical attention.
Dante Rusciolelli and Rebekah Kochan, co-CEOs of Golden Artists Entertainment, the talent management firm representing Hilton, said they “are aware of the concerning content circulating online involving our client, Perez Hilton.”
“At this time, we have not been able to make direct contact with him, despite our ongoing efforts to reach him. Our primary concern is Perez’s health and well being, as well as the well being of his family,” Rusciolelli and Kochan said. “Until we have confirmed information, we will not speculate or comment further. We appreciate everyone’s concern and ask that his privacy be respected during this time.”
Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, is a single father of three children — all under age 14 and born via surrogacy. He moved to Miami in June after living in Las Vegas for three-and-a-half years.
In March, Hilton was hospitalized in Las Vegas with severe sepsis. A month later, he said he had been hospitalized again for “a deep vein thrombosis on my right leg.” After undergoing a thrombectomy to remove the blood clot and spending weeks bedridden, Hilton shared a video of himself back on his feet on April 7.
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