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The year in celebrity comebacks

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:30:00 +0000

How's that hopey-changey thing working out for ya? Just great, actually. In a year when Mel Gibson raged, Lindsay Lohan went back to rehab and Glenn Beck still had a television show, it wasn't easy to believe that people could embrace progress, whether we were talking about the economy or the Denver Broncos. But in 2010, some people actually did. Once known for their flubs, their misdeeds and their general awfulness, a stalwart few picked themselves up and raised their formerly rock-bottom standards. The phrase that could be considered the year's motto -- "it gets better" -- is certainly embodied by our 10 Most Improved.

Michael Vick

No one will forget his gruesome role in the abuse and killing of canines while running a dogfighting ring on his property. He has failed drug tests and filed for Chapter 11. And when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009 after serving 19 months in prison for felony charges, his return to football was greeted with angry protests from animal lovers. Michael Vick knows exactly what it feels like to be one of the most reviled men in America.

Perez Hilton’s road to redemption

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Would Tom Selleck be Tom Selleck without the 'stache? Would Snooki be Snooki without the pouf? Would Sarah Palin be Sarah Palin without the made up nonsense words? More pressingly, would Perez Hilton be Perez Hilton without the incessant, raging jerkitude?

In a stunningly rare display of self-awareness, the man behind "Hollywood's Most-Hated Web Site" announced Wednesday that he's going to stop being a creep. "I am very happy, scared and ready," he said via YouTube. "I need it to be the change I want to be .… I still want to be me and be fun and be sassy without being vanilla, and without being malicious and hurtful and nasty .... Starting today, things will be different .... I'm ready to grow, and I hope you'll grow with me."

Why the sudden change? It would appear the pot formerly known as Mario Lavandeira has recently had his blackness pointed out to him by the kettle of public opinion. When Dan Savage launched the It Gets Better Project after a tragic string of teen suicides this September Hilton was, admirably, among the first to offer testimony of his experience as a closeted gay teen, and to affirm "You are special and you are loved…. Your life and your spirit is of great value."

Monday link dump: So goes the nation

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 23:01:00 +0000

Perez Hilton no longer supports President Obama.
Get excited for the new Supreme Court term!
Shocker: "The president of a third party group that's targeting vulnerable Democrats for their support of government spending has herself received thousands of dollars in federal farm subsidies."
The magic of the Roberts Court.
Old white people really don't like Barack Obama.
Dan Abrams "ran" MSNBC for a while. His big idea was changing the channel's slogan to "Keepin' It Real."
What David Axelrod and TNR don't get about "transforming" Washington.

Perez Hilton on Ke$ha: America’s scold strikes again

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:45:00 +0000

When the news broke Wednesday of a very NSFW photo of (supposedly) pop-tart Ke$ha, seemingly wearing the aftereffects of an intimate encounter, it was clear that our leading morals cop would be all over the story like, well, spunk on a porn star. To whom could I be referring, you ask? Focus on the Family founder James Dobson? "Hooked" authors Joe S. McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush? Perennially shocked-about-everything Caitlin Flanagan? Sure, they might get around to it eventually, but when the time comes, they probably won't come out and call her a "dirty whore" for her adventures. No, leave it to Perez Hilton, the most flamboyant gossip-monger ever to out-conservative the conservatives.

Does Perez Hilton have a point?

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:59:00 +0000

I really didn't want to write about Perez Hilton today. I've done my part in feeding the frenzy. (You should see the list of search terms currently driving people to Salon -- it reads like a poetic ode to baser desires: Miley Cyrus upskirt, upskirt Miley photo, Cyrus upskirt Perez pics, upskirt Perez Hilton, Miley Cyrus underwear Perez Hilton -- and so on and so forth.) I was ready to take away the cotton candy and force-feed you guys some damn spinach, I really was. But then I came across a clip of Hilton last night on "The Joy Behar Show." He was his usual unapologetic self (announcing that he would post the photo again tomorrow if the agency with the rights to the image would only let him), but a couple of things did stand out.

Perez Hilton loses advertiser

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:30:00 +0000

It isn't just legal punishment that Perez Hilton has to worry about. Even if he evades child pornography charges for tweeting an upskirt shot of Miley Cyrus, there is the threat of a business backlash -- and one advertiser seems to be leading the way.

MSNBC's "Today Show" reports that ABC Daytime pulled a banner ad for "The View" from the blogger's website. "It's not a matter of whether you like [Perez] or not, it has to do with the morality of the issue. Miley is a minor, period. There are ethics involved in running an ad on a site that potentially violated the rights of a minor, and that is what the conversation is about at the network level," an anonymous ABC source said.

It's funny to think that an upskirt shot of a not-quite-legal starlet is enough to offend the sensibilities of major advertisers, but Hilton's signature semen scribbles and slut-shaming is not. Regardless, depriving him of precious ad dollars seems far more appropriate than throwing the book at him, especially given the severity of child porn laws.

Perez pleads panty defense

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:05:00 +0000

More than 24-hours after tweeting a link to an upskirt photo of 17-year-old Miley Cyrus, Perez Hilton has broken his silence and released an official statement. The delay is understandable -- if he's got any sense, he was busy talking with his lawyers and figuring out a game plan. The result of all that strategizing, however, is fairly underwhelming: In a video posted on his website, Hilton sits in a chair wearing a faux fur coat that barely covers his crotch and repeatedly crosses his legs "Basic Instrict"-style while insisting that Cyrus was wearing underwear in the photo. But, as I reported earlier, that hardly makes him immune to child pornography charges.

Miley Cyrus upskirt shot: Child porn?

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:01:00 +0000

Perez Hilton has built a thriving career out of offensive behavior: He's called countless female celebrities bitches, hos, whores and sluts, and covered their faces in jizz using Microsoft Paint. But these things merely violate good taste -- not federal child porn law that carries a mandatory sentence of 15 years. The same cannot be said for his latest shocker: tweeting a link to an alleged upskirt photo of a pantyless 17-year-old Miley Cyrus.

The facts as we know them: On Sunday, Hilton's Twitter account sent out the following message: "If you are easily offended, do NOT click here http://i46.tinypic.com/2rze4pv.jpg Oh, Miley! Warning: truly not for the easily offended!" The photo in question has since been yanked down, but the image is allegedly of Cyrus climbing out of a car wearing a dress and no underwear (according to EarSucker.com, this is a censored version of the image in question). Now, Hilton has posted upskirt shots before of Britney Spears -- but Cyrus is roughly five months short of her 18th birthday. She's still a minor and it's legally considered child pornography.

Miley Cyrus upskirt photo Tweeted by Perez Hilton

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 23:10:00 +0000

Cue disgust: CBS News and the San Francisco Examiner report that Perez Hilton posted a photo of 17-year-old Miley Cyrus sans underwear on his Twitter account Monday.

Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, frequently publishes upskirt photos of celebrities like Britney Spears (usually exiting cars) on his website. One of the early trademarks of his blog was his addition of sometimes crude doodles to the photos he posted. Cyrus, however, is underage, so the latest photo has sparked disgust and cries of child pornography.

It is not clear whether the photo (which has been removed from Twitter but remains posted with censor on various sites) is real or edited, but either way, it makes my skin crawl.

Cyrus, in her attempts to break free of her Disney Channel chains, frequently faces scrutiny in the media for her skimpy clothing and provocative photos and dance moves. Watch her controversial, growing pain-infused music video for the song "Can't Be Tamed" below and judge for yourself.

Perez Hilton, child pornographer?

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:05:00 +0000

In a field of douchebag celebrity gossip mongers, Perez Hilton never fails to distinguish himself. Using his self-proclaimed “Queen of All Media” title as an all-access license to call other people “faggot” (a gambit that won him an ass kicking from the Black Eyed Peas manager Polo Molina earlier this year) and “whore,” Perez Hilton (nee Mario Armando Lavandeira) has long reveled in pissing people off. But is it possible that the guy whose main claim to fame is drawing penises in movie stars’ mouths has gone too far -- even for him?

The latest dustup erupted yesterday, when Demi Moore got wind of a series of comments Hilton had posted regarding Moore’s 15 year-old-daughter, actress Tallulah Willis. First, he’d tweeted that she was “dressing like a slut! Look at her boobs!" after she’d appeared out clubbing in a low-cut ensemble. There was more on his blog, including pictures of Willis in short shorts with helpful arrows pointing to her “ass” and a photo of her at a party speculating that she “can't even stand up straight without the help of her friends.” (An equal-opportunity offender, he’s also quick to depict her big sis Rumer as a semen-dribbling “Potato Head.”

Why I’m starting to feel for Miss California

Thu, 07 May 2009 17:09:00 +0000

Reuters/Steve Marcus

Miss California Carrie Prejean, left, responds to a question about gay marriage with Billy Bush during the Miss USA Pageant.

She's got fake boobs. She's posed for pictures in just her underpants and, it appears, lied about it. Her remarks on "opposite marriage" suggest she may not be doing much to dispel the myth of the dim bulb blonde. Carrie Prejean, I'm starting to feel for you.

Train wreck that she is, she's the woman of the moment, the representation of all we love, loathe, fear and desire. She's the goody goody, the beauty queen, the topless model, the "dumb bitch," the would-be porn star. And the public fascination and outrage about her says a whole lot more about us than about Miss Prejean herself.

You may remember that Prejean, better known as Miss California, livened up the moribund world of beauty competition last month during the Miss USA pageant when she told pageant judge Perez Hilton that, "no offense," she believed matrimony should be between a man and a woman. After weeks of scorn and celebrity, Prejean has now helpfully provided her public with a racy past.

The Fix

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:30:00 +0000

First Word

Britney runs from rehab: By the time you read this, Britney Spears may well have checked into a brand-new rehab facility, or had Anna Nicole Smith's sad-clown makeup tattooed on her face, or returned to her home planet. Wednesday, not long after we published the Fix, came the news that she checked out of the Promises center in Malibu, Calif., after less than 24 hours there. No real insight yet as to why she fled so quickly, but Kevin Federline isn't waiting to find out if she has gone absolutely nutso or if this is all an orchestrated P.R. bonanza created to fuel sales of her next album: He and his lawyer will appear early Thursday morning at an emergency hearing in family court in Los Angeles to discuss custody of the ex-couple's two children. (Associated Press)

Perez Hilton’s gay witch hunt

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 12:30:00 +0000

He doesn't call it "Hollywood's Most-Hated Web Site" for nothing. As celebrity blogger Perez Hilton -- real name: Mario Lavandeira -- walked down the red carpet of VH1's Big in '06 Awards earlier this month, the paparazzi pointed their lenses to the ground, refusing to shoot his photo. In Hollywoodland, where looks might kill but not being seen is fatal, it was as if the eye of God had turned from Perez. After two years of Hilton appropriating -- OK, stealing -- online paparazzi photos, scrawling words like "whoreanus" (a, um, "pun" on the word heinous) across them using Microsoft Paint and posting them on his site, the photographers and their agencies have finally turned on the world's most popular gossip blogger, who they claim is cutting into their bottom line.