GLAAD Slams Hilton for Anti-Gay Slur
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WENN.com
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Gay-rights advocates have lashed out at homosexual celebrity blogger Perez Hilton for using an anti-gay slur during his confrontation with Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am over the weekend.
The pair clashed at an after-party following the MuchMusic Video Awards in Canada on Sunday night over comments that Hilton posted about bandmate Fergie on his Web site.
Hilton alleged that he was left bleeding and in shock when the hip-hop star attacked him.
will.i.am insisted there was no violence and accused Hilton of calling him a "f**got" as they argued outside a nightclub in Toronto -- which Hilton later admitted in a short film posted on his blog.
The Black Eyed Peas' manager Polo Molina later turned himself into Toronto authorities and was charged with assault.
But despite Hilton insisting he was the victim of an unprovoked attack, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has hit out at the showbiz gossip's use of the word "f**got" -- and demanded an apology.
In a statement, GLAAD spokesperson Rashad Robinson says, "These are vulgar anti-gay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community.
"For someone in our own community to use it to attack another person by saying that it is 'The worst possible thing that thug would ever want to hear,' is incredibly dangerous. It legitimizes use of a slur that is often linked to violence against our community. And it sends a message that it is OK to attempt to dehumanize people by exploiting anti-gay attitudes.
"We have reached out to Hilton and asked him to apologize for promoting this anti-gay slur, and we would ask media outlets to avoid repetition of the slur in their coverage of this story."
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