NEWSGLAAD Not So Happy with Perez
June 23 2009, Published 12:36 p.m. ET
UPDATE: Perez Hilton has responded to GLAAD's statement regarding his use of "vulgary antigay slurs," telling TMZ:
"I am saddened GLAAD chose to victimize me further by criticizing me for how I non-violently dealt with a very scary situation that, unfortunately, turned violent. While I doubt I will get an apology from GLAAD, nor do I expect one, I would just hope people know how difficult it is to intellectualize a situation and think rationally when a thug disguised as a musician is screaming at your face and intimidating you. I am just very fortunate and grateful that nothing more serious happened to me."
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As collateral damage in his public squabble with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, blogger Perez Hilton has managed to irk the folks at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation with his use of the F-word — no, the other F-word.
In his video rant to will.i.am posted yesterday, Perez, himself openly gay, declared, "I don't need to respect you, and you're a f-g. You're gay, and stop being such a f----t." Not exactly the kind of language GLAAD was hoping to hear.
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"These are vulgar antigay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community," said Rashad Robinson, senior director of Media Programs at GLAAD. "For someone in our own community to use it to attack another person by saying that it is 'The worst possible thing that thug would ever want to hear,' is incredibly dangerous.
"It legitimizes 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 dehumanize people by exploiting antigay attitudes."
GLAAD is hoping that Perez will see the error in his ways and make amends. "We have reached out to Hilton and asked him to apologize for promoting this antigay slur," said Robinson. "And we would ask media outlets to avoid repetition of the slur in their coverage of this story."
