Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has been hospitalised after police responded to a report about him self-harming on a livestream on TikTok.
Clips from the livestream shared on social media show Hilton covered in blood using a knife to cut himself repeatedly. The videos contain extreme graphic material.
The blogger appeared to be in a manic condition.
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office said that they received multiple calls from concerned members of the public about a person livestreaming an act of self-harm.
Hilton’s TikTok account was suspended.
The Sheriff’s Office said that they met and spoke to his family and decided to “tactically disengage while monitoring the situation.”
“Unless there is an immediate threat to others, slowing the situation and utilising crisis intervention techniques can reduce the likelihood of a suicide-by-cop encounter and minimise the risk of injury to the individual, deputies and the public,” their statement read.
Hilton was reportedly alone at his home during the livestream. The sheriff's office said that the man was “safely recovered and transported by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to a local hospital, where he is receiving medical attention”. Hilton’s managers, Dante Rusciolelli and Rebekah Kochan, told TMZ that they have not been able to make contact with him after the incident.
“We appreciate everyone’s concern and ask that his privacy be respected during this time,” they said. Hiton, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr rose to fame in the 2000’s for his self-titled blog, which published celebrity commentary. He later moved into reality TV and podcasting. In June, he said that he moved with his three children from Las Vegas to Miami.
In a video posted last month, he had said that he struggled with the move to Miami. "I was in a bit of a spiral because I was overwhelmed with our move to Miami," he said. He also spoke about his religious practice and the effort he put into his faith.
Earlier this year, Hilton shared a lengthy Instagram video where he detailed how he was hospitalised for three week after battling the flu before developing “an ulcer, and then a perforation, and then Sepsis.”
He said he was put on heart medication and then developed another infection in the hospital.
He had said that after his experience that “God presented Himself to me.”
“It was real, and this has been life-changing. I’m so grateful,” he had added. “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.”
