TikTok is facing mounting criticism after disturbing footage posted by Perez Hilton, which appeared to show the celebrity blogger harming himself during a livestream, was not removed immediately from the platform.
The US entertainment commentator was taken for medical treatment in Miami on Monday night after police said they received multiple calls from worried viewers who had seen his behaviour unfold live online.
The livestream is understood to have stayed visible for around half an hour before it was taken down. Hilton’s TikTok account has since been suspended.
Clips captured from the broadcast, which the Daily Mail is not publishing, appeared to show Hilton with visible injuries while holding a knife.
Deputies from the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 48-year-old’s home before he was transported to a nearby hospital for care.
The incident has prompted fresh scrutiny of TikTok’s livestream safety systems, with critics questioning how such distressing content was able to remain online and warning about the possible impact on viewers, including younger users of the video-sharing app.
Bertie Aspinall, an adviser to the UK Government on the Online Safety Act, told the Daily Mail: ‘This is yet another example of extremely harmful content being broadcast to children.
‘We know that livestreams are workarounds for blocking content, and yet Kick, TikTok, Instagram etc all continue to promote it.
The US celebrity blogger known as Perez Hilton (pictured in Hollywood in March 2017) has been taken to hospital in Miami after officers received multiple calls from concerned fans
A police car outside the Miami home of Perez Hilton on Tuesday night after responding to concerns for his safety
Mr Aspinall is co-founder of SafetyMode.com, an app aimed at helping parents supervise and manage what their children see online.
He said of TikTok: ‘Many of our users are now abstaining from it entirely.
‘This is a great example of how you need to be able to block content in live time. Like we do.
‘Content like this has no place at all, not just online, but in society and not only is this very sad for the family and individual involved, but it could be the start of another worrying trend that kids should never see.’
One X user wrote: ‘Genuinely think TikTok should be held liable in some way for allowing that Perez Hilton feed to last 30 minutes. Absolutely insane.’
Another noted that the platform ‘allowed for many people, including children to come across a live where a man was going through a mental health crisis.’
‘Check on the people you love’, they added.
After last night’s footage was widely shared, Miami police officers spoke with family members on the scene and confirmed Hilton was alone inside before making the decision to ‘tactically disengage’ while monitoring the situation.
Hours later, authorities announced Hilton had been ‘safely recovered and transported by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to a local hospital, where he is receiving medical attention’.
Deputies rushed to 48-year-old Hilton’s home following ‘multiple’ emergency calls – he is pictured appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain in February 2021
Police vehicles and sheriff’s deputies were seen outside the Miami neighbourhood where Perez Hilton resides overnight
Meanwhile, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Crisis Response Unit and Licensed Mental Health Professionals remained at the scene ‘providing support and resources to the individual’s family’.
Hilton was alone at his home at the time the video was filmed, deputies have said.
He is a father to three children, who were born via surrogacy. His eldest son was born in 2013, followed by two daughters in 2015 and 2017.
The Daily Mail has contacted Hilton’s representatives for comment, as well as TikTok.
Hilton’s representatives, Golden Artists Entertainment co-CEOs Dante Rusciolelli and Rebekah Kochan, told TMZ in a statement: ‘We 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. 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.’
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office told the Daily Mail that deputies rushed to the residence after calls regarding an individual engaging in alleged self-harm on the platform
A person believed to be Hilton was taken from his home and into an ambulance following the incident, in a video shared by BNO News
In the meantime, celebrity friends and fans of the blogger – born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr – have taken to social media to send him messages, begging for him to seek medical help.
‘The Perez Hilton video is so upsetting,’ wrote Trisha Paytas. ‘I hope he’s OK. I hope his children are OK.
‘Crashing out on the internet, whether it’s fake or real – is a cry for help.’
Jessica Rosado, a singer and the host of Las Vegas Morning Blend, also posted a statement to her Instagram page.
She wrote: ‘As someone who knows Perez personally, I find myself at a loss for words.
‘I know the move to Miami hasn’t been an easy one, but never could I ever have imagined something as dark and deeply disturbing as this.
‘He is clearly in distress, and as someone who is also in media, I’m not rushing to discuss things I don’t have all the facts on. ‘I’m waiting to hear more from trusted sources.’
In the meantime, Rosado said her ‘love pours out to him and his entire family.’
Celebrity friends and fans of the blogger – born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. – took to social media to send him messages, begging for him to seek medical help
‘Thank you to everyone who has reached out with kind words and concern,’ the television host added.
‘Whether you are close with someone or not, please remember to move with empathy and approach others with the utmost care.’
Former politician George Santos wrote on X: ‘Please pray for Perez Hilton folks. He needs the power of prayer and the strength of our Lord and Savior.’
Hilton revealed in March he had just emerged from a 21-day hospital stint as he battled sepsis – a result, he said, of taking flu medication on an empty stomach that triggered further health problems.
He underwent two surgeries at the Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas.
During his recovery the following month, Hilton wrote of feeling ‘like I should be scared right now, but I’m not. I definitely am worried, though. God show me the way!’
The columnist continued on April 8: ‘Perez Hilton is GOING THROUGH IT right now. He asks for prayers and for Christ to intervene – sooner [rather] than later.’
Hilton later told the Daily Mail how he found God during his recovery.
Perez Hilton previously revealed that he had spent 21 days in hospital earlier this year after contracting sepsis. Pictured: Hilton in a hospital bed in March
Hilton said he got sepsis after taking flu medication on an empty stomach
He said: ‘It was God presenting Himself to me, and then doing something that I could only describe as a miracle to heal me. I was still unwell and then God did something.’
He also said that his professed exchange with God allowed him to change his mindset about his 22-year career.
Hilton had come under fire over the years for his controversial behaviour – including outing gay celebrities and giving certain A-listers nicknames.
He admitted that he had ‘made a lot of mistakes in the past which are very public’, adding: ‘Which I own. Which I regret, which I have deep shame for, which I’ve apologised for repeatedly, publicly as well as privately.’
But, he added, ‘to have this experience with God and to know that God loves me, and God forgives me, it was very healing, because I then forgave myself’.
Hilton also noted he harbored guilt over ‘all of the mistakes – not even mistakes, they were awful decisions that I made’ in his ‘enfant terrible phase’ as a celebrity blogger, when he ‘knew what I was doing was wrong and I didn’t care’.
He added: ‘It’s like if you’re a drug addict, and you’re stealing from your parents’ money to buy drugs.
‘You know what you’re doing is wrong, and you don’t care. You just want that hit. And that was truly what I was doing.’
For Hilton, the ‘most powerful drug’ was the ‘attention’ he garnered as an online gadfly, ‘and I didn’t care who I hurt in the process’.
Still, his ‘experience with God’ did not inspire a total career change.
He told of responding to people asking whether he would consider changing professions with: ‘No, because I’m not doing gossip. I do celebrity journalism.’
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org. Or call Samaritans on 116 123 for free in the UK.
