Perez Hilton's sister denounces "karma" remarks after his hospitalization
Barbara Lavandeira described the night her brother was found injured during a livestream and urged the public to acknowledge his efforts to change.
Perez Hilton, 48, was taken to a Florida hospital on Aug. 4 after a TikTok livestream showed him covered in blood and apparently self-harming. Authorities placed him under the Baker Act, which allows involuntary holds for individuals deemed a danger to themselves.
In an interview with Page Six, his youngest sister Barbara Lavandeira recounted conducting a wellness check at the Miami home. She said the bedroom door was locked, and when she knocked, Hilton initially said he was "fine" before becoming unresponsive. After unlocking the door, she found him undressed, bleeding, and standing in the bathroom, noting that his eyes looked different before he briefly smiled.
"August 4th will forever be one of the darkest days my family and I have ever experienced," Lavandeira told the outlet.
She said she called 911, alerted the police, and arranged for his three children to be taken to a car while she coordinated with a nearby friend. Hilton suffered significant blood loss and other injuries that required surgery, and his TikTok account was subsequently banned.
Lavandeira criticized online comments that framed the incident as "karma," calling them painful for her family. She acknowledged Hilton's controversial past, including outing LGBTQ+ celebrities and using derogatory nicknames, but said he has spent the past two decades trying to improve.
"I'm not asking anyone to forget or excuse any of that. I also understand that some people will always believe he hasn't done enough, despite his efforts," she said.
She added that the children and their grandmother should not be punished for his actions and that the family had filed for temporary custody of the children to ensure their safety. Representatives for Hilton declined to provide further details on his condition.