Perez Hilton's Shocking Plea from Hospital Bed Sparks Concern
Perez Hilton’s first words from his hospital bed after being transported to a medical facility following what appeared to be a self-harm livestream were reportedly “I need help.”
According to the Daily Mail, an insider close to the family shared that the gossip blogger, 48, is “really suffering.”
“He’s a man in a lot of pain,” they added, per the outlet. “I think right now he’s focused on the physical, but it’s all tied together. No one deserves the torment he’s going through.”
The insider, who according to the outlet claimed Hilton is “stable and alert,” was “able to articulate himself” to his mother, Teresita Lavandeira, in the hospital.
“But I don’t think he’s quite self-aware enough yet [to understand exactly what happened],” they added. “He’s still in a dark place as I understand it. Just very very sad.”
The insider reportedly said that prior to the incident, Hilton “was acting normal.”
“That’s the thing,” they added. “He was getting excited about future projects. It had been a good day up to then.”
Hilton, who was born Mario Lavandeira Jr, was taken to a hospital late Tuesday after livestreaming what appeared to be a self-harm video on TikTok, from his new home in Miami.
Audio dispatch from a call to 911 revealed the incident was called a “suicide attempt.” The insider told the Daily Mail that Hilton’s mother “was the one who met the cops there and told them” about the mental health crisis.
The source added that the mother-son duo had an agreement that if the media personality ever needed a break from his three children, Teresita would take them out.
The family — including Hiltson’ sister, Barbara Lavandeira, released an update on Thursday revealing that “when it became clear that Perez was experiencing a severe mental health crisis and harming himself,” Barbara, Hilton’s neice, and Hilton’s three children “immediately fled to protect” the kids “from witnessing any further trauma.”
Hilton then commenced with the livestream on TikTok, which was taken down after 15 to 20 minutes due to what TikTok called a “moderator error” in a statement to Deadline on Wednesday.
“Our highest priority right now is helping the children begin to heal from what they experienced,” the update read. “An important part of that process is allowing them to safely return home and begin rebuilding a sense of security and normalcy.”
The Daily Mail’s insider shared that despite multiple stressors — including a move from Las Vegas to his Miami home, two hospitalizations earlier this year, and subsequent medical bills — they were taken aback by the incident.
“There was nothing specific that happened that anyone knows of,” they reportedly told the outlet. “He hasn’t been particularly depressed.”
The source claimed Hilton was “actually looking forward to new opportunities and new projects. The numbers on his website had been low, but they had been going up, not down.”
The pal said there “wasn’t like a big event” that caused the apparent mental crisis. “We think it’s the stress from the move,” they noted. “He can get very overwhelmed sometimes. Everyone knows that. But never to this extent.”
A Las Vegas pal said they thought Hilton’s turn to religion after his hospitalizations was “a little strange.” “But again I just thought, ‘OK, this is a man who almost lost his life.'”
The second source said Hilton was “missing Vegas and he hoped he’d be back,” and that he’d confessed to being “overwhelmed.”
Hilton was said to have left Vegas in an effort to put his family first, given that “Being a good dad is part of his identity.”
The first friend said that Teresita “has been crying a lot” and that “she’s frantic. Even now.”
“She’s devastated,” the family friend allegedly said, further claiming that Teresita is “keeping the kids, she’s let DCF [Department of Children and Families] know that she’s willing to have them as long as needed.”
Meanwhile, an industry insider reportedly told the outlet that Hilton was having trouble processing that his career isn’t what it was back in the 2000s.
“Seeing everyone on TikTok do what he did years ago isn’t easy,” they claimed. “He should’ve just been living a chill life in Vegas, but that’s hard when you’ve been in the spotlight for so many years.”
Hilton’s reps have not responded to Page Six’s requests for comment.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.