Jared Padalecki Takes Down Post Supporting Perez Hilton After Backlash

Why Jared Padalecki’s Perez Hilton Apology Got Backlash

As mentioned above, Padalecki is one of the more prominent celebrity advocates for mental health awareness in Hollywood. He has spoken publicly about seeking treatment for suicidal ideation during his time on the massively popular Supernatural, and has consistently used his platform to reduce stigma around mental health struggles.

Hilton (real name Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr), the subject of Padalecki’s tweets, built one of the most trafficked celebrity gossip platforms of the 2000s internet era on a foundation that many of its subjects described as cruel, and the public pointing out of this apparent congruence was what Padalecki had to contend with.

Mila Kunis said in 2018 that he was “the first person that created ugly news, that literally just spread filth,” adding that it “allowed people to be mean.”

He consistently drummed up speculation about LGBTQ celebrities before they had come out themselves, for example. Articles with cruel nicknames for celebrities are still up on his website, like ‘Cokate’ for Kate Moss after photographs leaked of her consuming cocaine, ‘Kiki Drunkst’ for Kirsten Dunst about rumours of an alcohol problem and Zacquisha for Zac Efron, a frequent moniker accompanied by speculation about his sexual orientation.

Even minors like Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears’ children did not escape the website’s purview. In 2010, Hilton posted a picture of the then 17 year old Cyrus getting out of a car, with some parts pixelated, implying the child star was not fully clothed. He later took it down after controversy.

In his 2020 memoir TMI: My Life in Scandal, Hilton expressed regrets for the behavior which catapulted him into the limelight.

“I have a ton of regrets, particularly because I now see that I never needed to be so mean or cruel,” he wrote. “One of the many things I regret is that I hurt so many people by giving them nasty nicknames, and above all that I was unkind to the children of celebrities.”

“I also regret that I thought it was OK to out celebrities. That is something I no longer believe.”

The August incident is also not Hilton’s first health crisis this year. In March, following recovery from a 21-day hospitalization, he posted a video apologising for past behaviour and saying he had found God. Hilton said he had been brought up Catholic but was “never a believer” until now.

“It was real and this has been life-changing. I’m so grateful. I’m excited to start taking the kids to church every week. And to just know that God is real. … I don’t have to hope to believe. I know now,” he said amidst tears.

Celebrity Reactions to Perez Hilton’s Hospitalization Have Been Varied

The reaction to Hilton’s hospitalization has divided celebrity social media in ways uncomfortable to map cleanly onto a moral grid. Celebrity culture has and has not come a long way since Hilton’s heyday, and the question of publicly forgiving seemingly repentant, well-known figures whose actions have caused very real harm, is a complex one.

Ireland Baldwin, whose response captured the gamut more articulately than most, posted to Instagram Stories on August 5 calling Hilton a “despicable human being” for “humilating” her family and sexualizing her as a child, while simultaneously stating his children did not deserve this and hoping he gets the help he needs.

Hilton’s family confirmed publicly that he is in serious but stable condition, has experienced blood loss, and will require surgery.

If Perez Hilton’s story is relevant to you or someone you know who is struggling, help is available. In the US, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org. For international resources, visit Befrienders or the IASP to find a crisis line in your country.