Robin Abcarian

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, Mario Lavandeira in real life, is the self-designated Queen of All Media, whose site is among the most popular online. (Photo: Kirk McKoy, LA Times)

From Simple Blogger to Hollywood Insider

Perez Hilton is not sorry.

He is not sorry for trashing Miss California for saying marriage should be between a man and woman.

He is not sorry he accused Michael Jackson of faking it on the day he died (“Heart attack or cold feet?”), although he did redact his post to remove the cynical speculation.

He is not sorry he posted photos of Oscar-winning “Milk” screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, avatar of gay family values, having unprotected sex with a porn actor. (“If you make a sex tape or pictures, they will get out. And I will post them!” And in this case, take them down when threatened with a privacy invasion lawsuit.)

Nor is he entirely sorry for directing a gay slur at Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am (although after getting punched in the face by the Black Eyed Peas’ road manager in retaliation, he realizes it was wrong to use that word and issued a qualified apology to “the gay community”— but not to will.i.am, who, he said, “is a moron”).

Anyway, why would he be sorry?

“I’ve built my brand on being a bitch,” said the gay celebrity blogger. “So what?”

But Hilton no longer just gossips about celebrities; he has become one. Now they gossip about him. No longer the failed actor with his nose pressed against the glass, Hilton is firmly on the inside now. He is a star in his own right, in the midst of an expansion that could secure his status as a tastemaker and entrepreneur, or irreparably dilute his brand.

Hilton’s closest competitors — popular sites such as TMZ, OMG! and Wonderwall — are corporate owned (by Time Warner, Yahoo and Microsoft, respectively). Far less idiosyncratic in tone, none has inspired the intensely passionate love/hate reactions engendered by Hilton, who produces as many as 60 posts a day with two people: his younger sister, Barbara (Barby) Lavandeira, 25, and a recent college graduate whom he declined to name. “Why do you want to know that?” he said “It’s all about me!”

Increasingly, he is a force to be reckoned with in other spheres of pop culture as well. On July 21, Hilton launched his own music imprint, Perezcious Music, for Warner Bros. Records. While he is trying to come up with a fresh idea for a TV entertainment news show, he has Radio Perez, a daily gossip report for Citadel Broadcasting that runs in 55 markets. It’s recorded at home, in the Pepto Bismol-pink guest bedroom he converted to a closet brimming with free clothes and shoes. (“I love mah freebies.”) This week, he is preparing to debut a second Web site aimed squarely at his vast number of female twentysomething fans.

Every time Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, utters the sort of outrage that would land him in prison for life if the world were governed by laws of good taste and kindness, his popularity — and by extension his wealth and influence — only grows. Even Hilton, a once-schlubby but increasingly lean (thanks to two trainers and a $70-a-day meal service) Cuban-American kid from Miami, seems amazed.

Henry Copeland, president of Blogads, which handles advertising for Hilton, thinks his allure is simple and timeless. Hilton’s readers, the great majority of whom are women in their 20s,love the way he kicks dirt on Hollywood’s mythmaking machine. “Perez comes along and says everything is not the way it seems and people do not have perfect lives,” said Copeland.

The routine has not endeared him to many of the stars he picks on, nor their fans. After dissing Michael Jackson, an “unfollow Perez” campaign was launched on Twitter (although he netted new followers). When he was attacked in Toronto after tangling with will.i.am, plenty of folks were happy to see him get a real-world comeuppance. “People don’t want to see you hurt,” Tweeted John Mayer in an exchange with Hilton. “They want to see you experience something equalizing. ... Today, the fourth wall came crashing down.” Some major celebrities have gone out of their way to cultivate him, though.

Britney Spears, whom he has never met, asked him to star as a grotesque ringmaster in the video that opens each performance of her current Circus tour. Madonna sent him a video message last year, asking him to choose between her and his 2-year-old dog, Teddy. (“ ’Cause I can get down on all fours,” purrs the Queen of Pop. “I chase balls. And I love a biscuit.”)

A music fanatic who can’t sing or play an instrument, he has boosted the careers of a number of pop acts, including Adele, Katy Perry, Mika, Lady Gaga (his current passion) and newcomer Eric Hutchinson, whose album “Sounds Like This” went from total obscurity to No. 5 on the iTunes album list and became the object of a record label bidding war after Hilton posted four of his songs in September 2007.

Hilton discovered Hutchinson the way he discovers all new music: Someone, in this case, a high school friend of Hutchinson’s, e-mailed him. “People don’t know how to reach record labels and a lot of time labels don’t listen to stuff that’s sent in randomly,” said Hilton. “I listen to everything.”

In constant demand by reporters, Hilton, who is generous with his time and doesn’t bother with ground rules and minders, was recently the subject of a cover story in the Advocate and a profile in Entertainment Weekly. He was furious about the Advocate piece, in which the writer was dismissive of his intellect. (“He’s not a deep or nuanced thinker and seems generally unwilling ... to look critically at himself. ... He doesn’t strike me as all that intellectually honest,” wrote Benoit Denizet-Lewis.)

“He basically called me stupid,” said Hilton. “I am not stupid. I don’t think I have to prove that to anyone.”

Even his critics don’t doubt his smarts. “Clearly he is an intelligent businessman,” said the publicist who would not be named.

On Twitter, Hilton ranks around 20th in popularity. His 1.2 million followers make him less popular than Kim Kardashian (1.6 million), but more popular than Mariah Carey (1 million).

Reader surveys show that the typical Perez Hilton reader is a 26-year-old college-educated white woman who seldom goes to church, is a Democrat and does not shop at Wal-Mart. His new Web site, he said, will be squarely aimed at her, although he would not disclose more.

Los Angeles Times

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