September 9, 2025 • 32 mins
Perez Hilton—one of the internet’s original celebrity reporters—joins Michelle to talk about the rise of PerezHilton.com, how the fame economy changed (and changed him), and what he wishes today’s creators knew about clicks, consequences, and compassion. He opens up about evolving his voice, balancing honesty with empathy, and life as a dad while living online.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to arid Red.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
It's Michelle Barone and I have here with a very
special guest, someone who I've been admiring for years and
years and years.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's the infamous Perez Hilton. What's up, Perez?
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Hello? How you be here?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
So thanks for having me? Oh, of course absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I heard you met Ashley, my niece at your choice,
and I just had to get you on for an
interview because there's so many questions I have and I
can't wait to learn all about you and your past
and what you've been through. So first and foremost, I'm
a diehard Perez Hilton fan and I loved your blog.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
And I just want to know from you. Where'd you
get the idea? How did it all start? And how
did you become this household name.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I never had an idea. It really was just curiosity,
you know. I began literally twenty one years ago, in
the infancy of social media. I could not have predicted
anything that would happen because none of it existed. The
word influencer didn't even exist, the word creator didn't exist.
(01:06):
I just discovered blogging as a hobby and I said,
let me try this. But if it would have been
you know, ten years later it might have been on YouTube,
or if it would have been ten years after that,
it might have been on TikTok or wherever it is
(01:27):
at the moment. And that's the thing about social media.
It's constantly changing. There is no sure thing. For example, like,
one of the biggest surprises for me personally over the
last six months is this real resurgence of YouTube. I
would have never predicted that, but YouTube is having quite
(01:49):
the comeback, and I'm grateful that my videos are doing
very well on there. It makes sense because people don't
have cable anymore. People watch TV through YouTube TV and
Google owns YouTube. So if I'm doing a topical video,
if people search for the topic on Google, my videos
(02:14):
often come up. So, uh, you know, you gotta stay adapting,
you gotta stay hustling, and you gotta stay having fun
and making it fun for people.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I love the fun part because a lot of people,
you know, you get into it, you're like, oh, I
love this, and then all of a sudden it becomes
work and it's consistency and like you've been through it all,
how did you How do you get the news you
get and the ideas you get and you literally literally
were the first influencer. What do you think of influencers today,
You know, it's it's evolved so much.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
As you said, I mean.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I get it's like it's never easy, but it's like
getting in the routine of going to the gym every day.
The more you do something regularly, the better you get
at it, and the easier it becomes. It's still hard,
(03:11):
but I've been doing it for so long now that
information comes to me or I know where to find things.
And you know, the world of creators is always changing,
you know. I think the real successful ones now are
(03:32):
the micro influencers, the super niche ones. You know. Obviously,
every once in a while there are people that do
break through that are just doing randomness, but they're the
exception to the norm. The ones that really are super
(03:52):
successful are the ones that you know, like a food
creator and they're just doing that, or somebody that does
vintage furniture or whatever.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
It might be.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Because the platforms have also changed, they don't for the
most part, reward variety. They want you to pick a
lane and stay in a lane. However, I do tell
creators that I mentor if you're interested in different things.
Just create a new account for that other thing that
(04:27):
you're interested in for a few reasons, because the algorithms
will reward that. And also, here's like a little secret.
All of the platforms, new accounts get extra juice. They
will help you get more reach if your account is new,
(04:48):
because all of the platforms want to get you hooked
and creating and give you a taste of what you
could get. So the first pieces of content, whether it
be video or photos or whatever you're posting from a
new account, those will get more reach than if you
were to post the same content twelve months later.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Well there you go. You heard it straight from parent.
So make sure you make a new account if you're
posting different type of content than what people are used
to from you. But one hundred percent, that algorithm is tricky,
especially in the beginning, and it gives you more, like
you said, more views, more value. That's really interesting to know.
You've been in this game a long time. Do you
(05:32):
have any like top celeb haters?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Come on, spill the juice.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
I mean, I'm sure I just today, Yeah, I had
a hater, not like a very famous person, the son
of Cindy Lauper. Oh wow, which is so funny though,
because all I did was share something that he posted,
and he got upset that I share. All I did
(06:00):
was say, Cindy, I'm paraphrasing, but I think I said
something along the lines of I really feel for Cyndi
Lauper her son is calling her out publicly or something
like that, and just for sharing that, he was like
threatening me today. So I'm like, Okay, I didn't even
(06:21):
say anything mean, but just amplifying your debaggery.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah for real, I mean you posted it. I'm just
sure it, Like, isn't the whole point of posting to
get shares?
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I mean, come on, that's insane.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
But I will ask you, know, all these years, what's
been your most iconic moment. You've been doing this a
long time. You've talked about every celebrity there is. You
have no shame, you have done it all. And I
want to talk about sensory too after this, But what's
been your most iconic moment?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I mean, there have been so many. I would say
really just being the first, and I don't say that
to diminish anybody else, but nobody was being an influencer
(07:18):
or creator before me. No one, you know, like I
remember I had a job while I was starting out,
and I hated it, and I was telling all my
coworkers should I quit this and do my little blog
full time? And everybody was like, no, no, nobody makes
money on the internet. Don't. And I'm glad that I
(07:42):
ended up getting fired from that job, but that probably
would have stayed there, you know, But getting fired from
that this is actually another lesson, right, Another lesson is
sometimes things in the moment that we think are the
worst things to happen to us are really a blessing.
And guys, because I was working at that magazine, this
(08:03):
entertainment magazine for six to eight months, I forget these
It was over six months. I think it was eight months.
And I was there long enough that I was able
to collect unemployment after I got fired. Great, and that
unemployment is what helped me get by for the next
year and gave me money to be able to just
(08:25):
do my little blog full time. And when I started
to do my little hobby full time, that's when I
started to make money eventually, because the whole first year
of me blogging, I didn't make any money.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yep, that's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
You're like all of these people trying to get out
there and start and people think, well, Perez Hilton, you
know this big name, the number one, and you are
and rightfully so, because you were the pioneer. Where'd you
come up with the name Perez Hilton? Was it in
alias because you were like still fully employed?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
It wasn't Alias because I was talking about things that
upset a lot of people, and I actually ended up
getting fired from another job.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I love you.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
It's funny because I was always like the overachiever, like
the really good kid, graduated top ten in my class,
went to NYU on a full scholarship. But then it
was that one year, that pivotal year. I ended up
getting fired three times in one year, and all for
(09:34):
reasons that I don't even regret, to be honest, Like,
I ended up getting fired the second time because I
was working as a receptionist at the E Networks and
Janie Dickinson comes in one day. This was back in
two thousand and four. She was really popular then because
Top Model was a huge show and she caused a
(09:58):
scene in the middle of the law and I was
working as the receptionist, So you know, I thought to myself,
could I get in trouble for posting this on my
little blog because it happened in public. I didn't reveal
any e insider information. So I wrote about it, and
in the very next day, this hot blonde dude from
(10:21):
human resources comes and brings me to his office and
he says, you wrote this right. And I couldn't lie
because at that point I didn't have the character Perez Hilton.
I was using my real name.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Oh my god, and.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I got fired from that job.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
So it was always like talking smack and just posting
that wasn't really you know, allowed to go out, but
you knew the inside scoop, and it was It's funny
because it wasn't like you were at the top of
these organizations. You were just like curious and liked to
talk about it and took the risk. How has it
been taking the risk all these years? And do you
think it's paid off more than it's harmed you?
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I mean, everything in life is about taking risks. However,
it's easier to do that when you're younger and there's
less at stake. Now that I'm almost fifty.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
I can't even give a book twenty.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I turned forty seven last month and I have three
children and my mother that I also support. You know,
I am definitely risk averse. Now I don't want to
be risky because I can't be risky anymore.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Risky. What made you, you know, be risky is what
made you.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
I still do things my own way, which is maybe
you know, even that is risky, you know, like playing
by my rules or coloring outside the lines. But yeah,
you know, life is all about being as authentically you
(12:05):
as possible and sharing that with the world, you know,
because you might think, oh god, how am I gonna
get noticed in this day and age? Just doing things differently,
and you are different than anybody else. You just need
to figure out what that difference is.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
I couldn't agree with you more.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
You know that uniqueness makes you you right and and
that's what you found early on. You know, did you
know that there would be a coin phrase as influencer
consecrator when you took this journey on? Or did you
think you were just going to be a blogger and
you know, did you understand the movement you were creating?
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Yes? And yes, originally they called me web celeb, which
I kind of like that has a ring to yes.
And you know, while a lot has changed over the
past twenty one years. One thing has definitely remained the same,
(13:09):
and that's the speed at which things happen and change.
And within six months of me starting my little hobby,
my blog, I was able to get on television. And
while I was working in that celebrity magazine that I
got fired from, I was also going through a severe depression,
(13:32):
like very very because I felt stuck. I knew right
away I hated that job, but it paid so well,
and I was paralyzed into inaction. I was afraid to
quit because the money was so good. And then, thankfully
I was blessed to get fired from that job. But
(13:52):
for the many months leading up to me being fired,
I was very, very, very depressed. But I remembered, you know,
a few months ago my little blog, and they hired
me knowing that I had my little blog talking about celebrities.
And within six months that I had started it, I
was on this TV show called The Insider, which isn't
(14:14):
even on TV anymore. It ran for a very long time.
It was the sister show to Entertainment Tonight, And in
my dark days months, I kept telling myself, you know,
I can't quit my little hobby. I can't quit this
blog because if it got me on TV once, maybe
(14:34):
it'll get me on a second time. And it's just,
you know, the power of hope and the power of
not giving up. And I didn't give up, and that
hope was so powerful that I just kept going and
it worked out.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
You know, I have to say, you know, you were
bat in a thousand, right. You're getting fired, you're getting
put down, You're depressed, you don't want to do this.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
You know, it's every reason to quit, but you.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Had this flame inside you that said, no, I'm going
to keep going if you can get me on TV once.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
It was hope.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
And was that the driving factor, where those little winds
of the stories going viral then the things that kept
you going? Or was it really just believing in yourself?
And I think that's an important question for anyone listening.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
It was the opposite of believing in myself. It was
it was the depression. It was a need to keep
going because this is how depressed I was. I kept
imagining my future, like I literally saw my future. It
was like I was a horse, you know, with those
blinders on and tunnel vision, and all I could see
(15:44):
was darkness. All I could see was me moving back
to Miami, where I was born and raised. I was
living in New York City at the time, and getting
a job that I hated in Miami, feeling like failure
and then hating my life and then eventually taking my
(16:05):
own life. Like that's the scenario that was playing its
itself over and over again in my head. And it's like, well,
I don't want that scenario. I can't. I don't that
I'm not going to do that, so let me just
keep going and hopefully things will work out.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Wow, I had no idea that that's how you felt.
And mental health is so important, right because without strong
mental health, mental health America of Dutchess County is a
big partner in read and without mental health, it's so
hard to keep going. I cannot believe you were going
through your darkest days, going into your highest moments. Right
(16:46):
When did you realize that you won? When did you
realize all right, I'm kind of snapping out of this
and again carefully talking about those words. I'm ready to
do more, and I'm getting there. I've gotten there. When
was that pivotal moment?
Speaker 3 (17:03):
It took? It took about six months after getting fired.
It was a while. It wasn't quicker overnight, like I remember,
I got fired and a friend invited me to go
to the movies, and I was so unwell, like I
couldn't even focus during the film, Like I was physically
(17:24):
present in the movie theater, but my brain was somewhere else.
And that also scared me. I was like, oh my god,
is my brain broken permanently? Because I had actually never
experienced depression before, like real depression where I was having
ideations heart of self harm and ending my life. And
I was so scared. I'm like, oh my god, am
(17:46):
I permanently broken? And then it just took a while
of healing and not even like I was so poor.
I didn't get therapy at the time. I didn't I
didn't do I didn't do much. It just thankfully not
giving up and having and still showing up for myself
(18:09):
every day and showing up for my little blog and
working and having the structure of doing something every day
at least, you know, doing something is better than just
feeling totally lost at sea without any momentum or without
any purpose. And about six months later, so after getting
(18:33):
fired from the magazine. I started to eventually freelance for
some other magazines, which was great because I didn't want
to work full time at one of these other magazines.
I was able to collect unemployment and I was freelancing, which,
now that I think about it, was that even legal?
I mean I think it was, because you know, it
(18:56):
wasn't like steady income. It was like cover this red
car or cover that red carpet. And I got sent
to Las Vegas to cover this event where Paris Hilton
was and I had a great time, and it just
was wonderful to be like, Wow, I'm getting paid to
(19:17):
do something that I enjoy and it turned out, Okay.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Did obviously there's a you know, a name, I guess
Perez and Paris. Right, you have this whole thing. Where
did this name come from? And when you met her?
What did she say to you? Did she say like hello?
Speaker 3 (19:39):
It just I don't know it came because back you know,
it's so funny, like if you're young, you may not
remember this, but back in the early two thousands, Paris
Hilton was as popular as Kim Kardashian.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Oh yeah, there was.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
I mean, if you this is a fact you can
google it. There was a period in time where the
Associated Press sent out this statement that they were no
longer going to cover Paris Hilton because they had been
covering her so much, and eventually like a week or
less than a week, I forget the exact timeframe, but
(20:20):
shortly after that she got sent to jail and they
broke their band on her. The band did not last
very long. So it was just a few months after
I had started blogging. I was back home in Miami
and I was out with some friends and they took
(20:41):
me to some local bars and a club and they
had like a reserved table and I was like, oh,
who's going there? And they said, oh, Paris Hilton is coming,
and I'm like, oh, fun, exciting, cool, And then she
didn't show up, and then we went to another place,
and then the same thing happened, and I don't know
what was going on. I don't know if the promoters
(21:02):
were just saying Paris was coming or if she had
actually told them all that she was going. But I
was like, oh, please, Paris Hilton isn't showing up, but
maybe Perez Hilton is. And then the name's kind of
like stuck with me.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
I love it. I love it. That is so awesome.
I love it. You know, she was huge back then.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
I remember she was like bigger than Kim at that time.
I mean she was everywhere. She had the Cole Show
and all that stuff. I always wondered where where the
name came from, but it's iconic how you were able
to literally resonate and become a household name, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
I just I.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Remember every day going online habitually and looking up what's
the latest news today. It was like better than going
to E or any other outlet. You were the news source.
And the way you told your stories were just amazing
because you said what you felt.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And even today that's more.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Guarded, right, it's so much more guarded online now. And
you're older, Like you said, you have three children your mom,
so you're more guarded as well. Do you think that
cancel culture has played a big role in the way
you tell stories now?
Speaker 1 (22:09):
And do you wish it could go back to the
way it was.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
I don't believe in cancel culture. I like to think
of it as counsel culture and accountability absolutely, you know,
people should be held accountable, But I don't want to
(22:34):
go back to how I used to be because I
made a change for the right reasons to be better
and do better. And I can still be sassy and
have fun without being nasty. And you know, I learned
the importance of not saying everything that I think some
(22:58):
people don't learn that lesson. You shouldn't publicly share everything
you're thinking.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Exactly one hundred percent. And I'm glad you learned that.
And now we're seeing a new side of you. And
you know you're still, like you said, sassy, able to
be yourself, loving the YouTube. Do you think you'll ever
get back on TikTok because we need you there?
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I mean, what's going on with that?
Speaker 3 (23:20):
I would love too, but they don't want me on TikTok?
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Have you, Like, is there any hope? Can we can
we see anything in the near future twenty twenty six?
Like what's the future there?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
I would love to. They just have to decide to
let me back on. And I'm banned for life.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Do you want to talk about that at all? Like
what exactly led up to it? I know it was
multiple things. And then how did you feel when it
all went down?
Speaker 3 (23:46):
I mean, I've never been banned from any other platform before,
like I am this might I'm willing to kiss the ring,
I'm willing to grobble, but I'm all so not going
to lie and rewrite history. I know I didn't do
(24:07):
anything to warrant being permanently kicked off of TikTok. However,
having said that, when I got kicked off of TikTok,
it was December of twenty twenty, and TikTok at that
time was still predominantly a teenager's platform. It was extremely young.
(24:27):
Over the last few years, it's gotten much older and
people of all ages are on there, and I just
was not like I was a very early adopter of TikTok.
I actually started using TikTok in twenty nineteen, wow, before
the pandemic, and back then it was a very ageist platform.
(24:48):
They did not like old people. That expression okay boomer
that originated on TikTok, and just because I was in
my forties when I started on TikTok, I was not liked.
And then in twenty twenty there was one day when,
by that point I think she was already the most
followed person on TikTok. Charlie Demilio a video of hers
(25:12):
showed up on my for you page. She was fifteen
years old the time, and she was at the beach
in a bikini, dancing provocatively to a sexual to a
song about sucking d and I said the following I
(25:34):
left the comment. I said, I remember it. It's edged
into my brain. I said, is this appropriate question mark?
That's all I said. And the response that I got
to that for that was like, you're bullying her, you're
a but like what I all I asked, like you
should have kept that to yourself. That's a What all
(25:55):
I said was is this appropriate question mark? And then
what happened was got it. It was so long ago,
like there used to be this trend called like fairy comments.
They left like all these fairy comments on my videos
telling me to kill myself and all of that, and
then her fans, because she was the most followed person
(26:15):
on TikTok, started mass reporting my videos even though they
didn't break any rules. The behind the scenes of it
all back then was different. You could get mass reported
and get your videos taken down back then, and that's
what happened. So eventually, yes, I had all these videos
taken down for violating community guidelines that did not violate
(26:37):
community guidelines. But listen, I get it. I was not
at the time welcome on the platform by the community.
They didn't want me there. So TikTok listened to their
community and they said, our users don't want you here,
we're kicking you off. And that's their right to do that.
(26:57):
But it sucks. It's definitely a bitter pill for me
to swallow because I know I didn't do anything to
warrant it, break any rules to get kicked off.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, And it's just such a different world today, right,
anything you say can be taken as something People have
a different view, right. It's a generational difference. What you
think is not a big deal, maybe a very big
deal to the next generation.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
So I find that too.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
And Ashley, my co host who's unable to be here today,
who you met at cheer Choice, is awesome, She's my niece.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
We think very different.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
We often have these battles of millennial and gen z
and I'm like, well, I just don't understand why you
even think that way, Like, I can't wrap my head
around it because it's just not how I was brought up.
It's not who I am, right, So it is a
generational thing. And the difference about this generation is it's public.
It's way more public, it's way more out there, so
you can see here and feel the generational gap so
(27:54):
much more. I do think you'll get back on TikTok.
To me, that comment does not warrant you're getting kicked down.
But like you said, the community didn't accept. I'm hoping
they do accept and you get back on.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
And I know I've tried. I've emailed so many people
that work on TikTok and they ghost me.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
The ghost you.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Well, listen, I've been to the office out there. Maybe
me and you should take a trip to LA and
we'll knock on the right doors and get you on.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
We got to get you.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
On and uh probably arrest me for real.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Well, let's see what we can do. But keep promoting
on YouTube. What's the future for Perez Hilton? You know
I want to see more. I'm a huge fan, and
I know people my age are as well. We love
your sassiness, your news. We love you and we want
it all. So where can we go? What's the future.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Yeah, I've got if you enjoyed me on here, I've
got a podcast of my own the Perez Hilton podcast,
and it's kind of like your relationship with your niece.
You know, my co host is not related to me,
but we're very different. We talk about pop culture, but
we're constantly clashing because we the world in totally different ways.
(29:02):
It's great, but I think that's really fun for the listener,
you know, So check out the pesults and podcast with
Chris Booker wherever you stream your favorite shows. And I'm
working on a few things behind the scenes, trying to
you know, it's kind of like I'm like McDonald's, right,
Like I've been doing this for twenty one years. My
brand has been around for a long time. But even
(29:24):
McDonald's is constantly adding new menu items or taking away
menu items, changing how they do things. So I'm constantly
like like when I noticed, wow, my TikTok, my my
YouTube videos are popping off, I was like, okay, well
let me throw some fire, let me throw some gasoline
on the fire. And I started making more YouTube videos
(29:46):
or you know, I'm trying to work on this project
or that other project. It's like you know, throw throwing
pasta against the wall and seeing what sticks. You know,
absolutely like everything that all of the influence have done
or are doing now, like I already did it all,
like and I failed most of the time. Like I
(30:07):
had a fashion brand eighteen years ago and it failed.
I had a liquor brand and it failed, Like I've
you know, I've done it all, but I've learned from
my mistakes and I'm still here and I'm grateful for that.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Yeah, And you know what, that's what it's about.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
It's evolving, it's changing, and it's just becoming, you.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Know, keep growing, whether you've had success or not.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Right, And that's what I always like about these stories
is we're talking to Perez Hilton, the number one top
influencer who was the first influencer ever and still failure
after failure, but came out on top and will continue
to do that because you're not as afraid to take
that risk.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And I really admire your drive.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I love the way you storytell I love your new content.
Keep going. Anything we can do here on ready to
support you. Let us know we'll always share your stuff.
Big supporters, and I really can't wait to see you
on TikTok so oh.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
I would love that. But if not, follow me on
YouTube at Parez Hilton and yeah, I would say, just
to wrap things up, you know, like check your ego
at the door.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Yes, Like.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
I'm not embarrassed by anything, you know, like, yeah, I failed,
and I brought it up like I told you myself, like,
oh I failed my liquor brand, I failed in my
fashion brand. That failures are not they didn't work out,
but but I learned so much from them. Would I
have loved for them to have been successes, Yes, but
that's not reality. Not everything you're gonna do is gonna
(31:37):
be a success. And that's okay. Keep moving forward, don't
let failure derail you completely, get back on track, change
course and keep going ahead.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
And thank you for taking time out. Perez. We love you.
We'll see you on YouTube at press Hilton.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Make sure you check out his podcast one more time
where they can where can they find it, Perez.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
The Forz Hilton Podcast.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
All right, so check it out the Perez Hilton Podcast and.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
We'll see you soon. You can check us out on
R E, d Red and Mishelle Brone online on all platforms.
See you soon. Bye,
Welcome to arid Red.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
It's Michelle Barone and I have here with a very
special guest, someone who I've been admiring for years and
years and years.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's the infamous Perez Hilton. What's up, Perez?
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Hello? How you be here?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
So thanks for having me? Oh, of course absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I heard you met Ashley, my niece at your choice,
and I just had to get you on for an
interview because there's so many questions I have and I
can't wait to learn all about you and your past
and what you've been through. So first and foremost, I'm
a diehard Perez Hilton fan and I loved your blog.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
And I just want to know from you. Where'd you
get the idea? How did it all start? And how
did you become this household name.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I never had an idea. It really was just curiosity,
you know. I began literally twenty one years ago, in
the infancy of social media. I could not have predicted
anything that would happen because none of it existed. The
word influencer didn't even exist, the word creator didn't exist.
(01:06):
I just discovered blogging as a hobby and I said,
let me try this. But if it would have been
you know, ten years later it might have been on YouTube,
or if it would have been ten years after that,
it might have been on TikTok or wherever it is
(01:27):
at the moment. And that's the thing about social media.
It's constantly changing. There is no sure thing. For example, like,
one of the biggest surprises for me personally over the
last six months is this real resurgence of YouTube. I
would have never predicted that, but YouTube is having quite
(01:49):
the comeback, and I'm grateful that my videos are doing
very well on there. It makes sense because people don't
have cable anymore. People watch TV through YouTube TV and
Google owns YouTube. So if I'm doing a topical video,
if people search for the topic on Google, my videos
(02:14):
often come up. So, uh, you know, you gotta stay adapting,
you gotta stay hustling, and you gotta stay having fun
and making it fun for people.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I love the fun part because a lot of people,
you know, you get into it, you're like, oh, I
love this, and then all of a sudden it becomes
work and it's consistency and like you've been through it all,
how did you How do you get the news you
get and the ideas you get and you literally literally
were the first influencer. What do you think of influencers today,
You know, it's it's evolved so much.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
As you said, I mean.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I get it's like it's never easy, but it's like
getting in the routine of going to the gym every day.
The more you do something regularly, the better you get
at it, and the easier it becomes. It's still hard,
(03:11):
but I've been doing it for so long now that
information comes to me or I know where to find things.
And you know, the world of creators is always changing,
you know. I think the real successful ones now are
(03:32):
the micro influencers, the super niche ones. You know. Obviously,
every once in a while there are people that do
break through that are just doing randomness, but they're the
exception to the norm. The ones that really are super
(03:52):
successful are the ones that you know, like a food
creator and they're just doing that, or somebody that does
vintage furniture or whatever.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
It might be.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Because the platforms have also changed, they don't for the
most part, reward variety. They want you to pick a
lane and stay in a lane. However, I do tell
creators that I mentor if you're interested in different things.
Just create a new account for that other thing that
(04:27):
you're interested in for a few reasons, because the algorithms
will reward that. And also, here's like a little secret.
All of the platforms, new accounts get extra juice. They
will help you get more reach if your account is new,
(04:48):
because all of the platforms want to get you hooked
and creating and give you a taste of what you
could get. So the first pieces of content, whether it
be video or photos or whatever you're posting from a
new account, those will get more reach than if you
were to post the same content twelve months later.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Well there you go. You heard it straight from parent.
So make sure you make a new account if you're
posting different type of content than what people are used
to from you. But one hundred percent, that algorithm is tricky,
especially in the beginning, and it gives you more, like
you said, more views, more value. That's really interesting to know.
You've been in this game a long time. Do you
(05:32):
have any like top celeb haters?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Come on, spill the juice.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
I mean, I'm sure I just today, Yeah, I had
a hater, not like a very famous person, the son
of Cindy Lauper. Oh wow, which is so funny though,
because all I did was share something that he posted,
and he got upset that I share. All I did
(06:00):
was say, Cindy, I'm paraphrasing, but I think I said
something along the lines of I really feel for Cyndi
Lauper her son is calling her out publicly or something
like that, and just for sharing that, he was like
threatening me today. So I'm like, Okay, I didn't even
(06:21):
say anything mean, but just amplifying your debaggery.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah for real, I mean you posted it. I'm just
sure it, Like, isn't the whole point of posting to
get shares?
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I mean, come on, that's insane.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
But I will ask you, know, all these years, what's
been your most iconic moment. You've been doing this a
long time. You've talked about every celebrity there is. You
have no shame, you have done it all. And I
want to talk about sensory too after this, But what's
been your most iconic moment?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I mean, there have been so many. I would say
really just being the first, and I don't say that
to diminish anybody else, but nobody was being an influencer
(07:18):
or creator before me. No one, you know, like I
remember I had a job while I was starting out,
and I hated it, and I was telling all my
coworkers should I quit this and do my little blog
full time? And everybody was like, no, no, nobody makes
money on the internet. Don't. And I'm glad that I
(07:42):
ended up getting fired from that job, but that probably
would have stayed there, you know, But getting fired from
that this is actually another lesson, right, Another lesson is
sometimes things in the moment that we think are the
worst things to happen to us are really a blessing.
And guys, because I was working at that magazine, this
(08:03):
entertainment magazine for six to eight months, I forget these
It was over six months. I think it was eight months.
And I was there long enough that I was able
to collect unemployment after I got fired. Great, and that
unemployment is what helped me get by for the next
year and gave me money to be able to just
(08:25):
do my little blog full time. And when I started
to do my little hobby full time, that's when I
started to make money eventually, because the whole first year
of me blogging, I didn't make any money.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yep, that's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
You're like all of these people trying to get out
there and start and people think, well, Perez Hilton, you
know this big name, the number one, and you are
and rightfully so, because you were the pioneer. Where'd you
come up with the name Perez Hilton? Was it in
alias because you were like still fully employed?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
It wasn't Alias because I was talking about things that
upset a lot of people, and I actually ended up
getting fired from another job.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I love you.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
It's funny because I was always like the overachiever, like
the really good kid, graduated top ten in my class,
went to NYU on a full scholarship. But then it
was that one year, that pivotal year. I ended up
getting fired three times in one year, and all for
(09:34):
reasons that I don't even regret, to be honest, Like,
I ended up getting fired the second time because I
was working as a receptionist at the E Networks and
Janie Dickinson comes in one day. This was back in
two thousand and four. She was really popular then because
Top Model was a huge show and she caused a
(09:58):
scene in the middle of the law and I was
working as the receptionist, So you know, I thought to myself,
could I get in trouble for posting this on my
little blog because it happened in public. I didn't reveal
any e insider information. So I wrote about it, and
in the very next day, this hot blonde dude from
(10:21):
human resources comes and brings me to his office and
he says, you wrote this right. And I couldn't lie
because at that point I didn't have the character Perez Hilton.
I was using my real name.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Oh my god, and.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I got fired from that job.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
So it was always like talking smack and just posting
that wasn't really you know, allowed to go out, but
you knew the inside scoop, and it was It's funny
because it wasn't like you were at the top of
these organizations. You were just like curious and liked to
talk about it and took the risk. How has it
been taking the risk all these years? And do you
think it's paid off more than it's harmed you?
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I mean, everything in life is about taking risks. However,
it's easier to do that when you're younger and there's
less at stake. Now that I'm almost fifty.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
I can't even give a book twenty.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I turned forty seven last month and I have three
children and my mother that I also support. You know,
I am definitely risk averse. Now I don't want to
be risky because I can't be risky anymore.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Risky. What made you, you know, be risky is what
made you.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
I still do things my own way, which is maybe
you know, even that is risky, you know, like playing
by my rules or coloring outside the lines. But yeah,
you know, life is all about being as authentically you
(12:05):
as possible and sharing that with the world, you know,
because you might think, oh god, how am I gonna
get noticed in this day and age? Just doing things differently,
and you are different than anybody else. You just need
to figure out what that difference is.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
I couldn't agree with you more.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
You know that uniqueness makes you you right and and
that's what you found early on. You know, did you
know that there would be a coin phrase as influencer
consecrator when you took this journey on? Or did you
think you were just going to be a blogger and
you know, did you understand the movement you were creating?
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Yes? And yes, originally they called me web celeb, which
I kind of like that has a ring to yes.
And you know, while a lot has changed over the
past twenty one years. One thing has definitely remained the same,
(13:09):
and that's the speed at which things happen and change.
And within six months of me starting my little hobby,
my blog, I was able to get on television. And
while I was working in that celebrity magazine that I
got fired from, I was also going through a severe depression,
(13:32):
like very very because I felt stuck. I knew right
away I hated that job, but it paid so well,
and I was paralyzed into inaction. I was afraid to
quit because the money was so good. And then, thankfully
I was blessed to get fired from that job. But
(13:52):
for the many months leading up to me being fired,
I was very, very, very depressed. But I remembered, you know,
a few months ago my little blog, and they hired
me knowing that I had my little blog talking about celebrities.
And within six months that I had started it, I
was on this TV show called The Insider, which isn't
(14:14):
even on TV anymore. It ran for a very long time.
It was the sister show to Entertainment Tonight, And in
my dark days months, I kept telling myself, you know,
I can't quit my little hobby. I can't quit this
blog because if it got me on TV once, maybe
(14:34):
it'll get me on a second time. And it's just,
you know, the power of hope and the power of
not giving up. And I didn't give up, and that
hope was so powerful that I just kept going and
it worked out.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
You know, I have to say, you know, you were
bat in a thousand, right. You're getting fired, you're getting
put down, You're depressed, you don't want to do this.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
You know, it's every reason to quit, but you.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Had this flame inside you that said, no, I'm going
to keep going if you can get me on TV once.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
It was hope.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
And was that the driving factor, where those little winds
of the stories going viral then the things that kept
you going? Or was it really just believing in yourself?
And I think that's an important question for anyone listening.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
It was the opposite of believing in myself. It was
it was the depression. It was a need to keep
going because this is how depressed I was. I kept
imagining my future, like I literally saw my future. It
was like I was a horse, you know, with those
blinders on and tunnel vision, and all I could see
(15:44):
was darkness. All I could see was me moving back
to Miami, where I was born and raised. I was
living in New York City at the time, and getting
a job that I hated in Miami, feeling like failure
and then hating my life and then eventually taking my
(16:05):
own life. Like that's the scenario that was playing its
itself over and over again in my head. And it's like, well,
I don't want that scenario. I can't. I don't that
I'm not going to do that, so let me just
keep going and hopefully things will work out.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Wow, I had no idea that that's how you felt.
And mental health is so important, right because without strong
mental health, mental health America of Dutchess County is a
big partner in read and without mental health, it's so
hard to keep going. I cannot believe you were going
through your darkest days, going into your highest moments. Right
(16:46):
When did you realize that you won? When did you
realize all right, I'm kind of snapping out of this
and again carefully talking about those words. I'm ready to
do more, and I'm getting there. I've gotten there. When
was that pivotal moment?
Speaker 3 (17:03):
It took? It took about six months after getting fired.
It was a while. It wasn't quicker overnight, like I remember,
I got fired and a friend invited me to go
to the movies, and I was so unwell, like I
couldn't even focus during the film, Like I was physically
(17:24):
present in the movie theater, but my brain was somewhere else.
And that also scared me. I was like, oh my god,
is my brain broken permanently? Because I had actually never
experienced depression before, like real depression where I was having
ideations heart of self harm and ending my life. And
I was so scared. I'm like, oh my god, am
(17:46):
I permanently broken? And then it just took a while
of healing and not even like I was so poor.
I didn't get therapy at the time. I didn't I
didn't do I didn't do much. It just thankfully not
giving up and having and still showing up for myself
(18:09):
every day and showing up for my little blog and
working and having the structure of doing something every day
at least, you know, doing something is better than just
feeling totally lost at sea without any momentum or without
any purpose. And about six months later, so after getting
(18:33):
fired from the magazine. I started to eventually freelance for
some other magazines, which was great because I didn't want
to work full time at one of these other magazines.
I was able to collect unemployment and I was freelancing, which,
now that I think about it, was that even legal?
I mean I think it was, because you know, it
(18:56):
wasn't like steady income. It was like cover this red
car or cover that red carpet. And I got sent
to Las Vegas to cover this event where Paris Hilton
was and I had a great time, and it just
was wonderful to be like, Wow, I'm getting paid to
(19:17):
do something that I enjoy and it turned out, Okay.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Did obviously there's a you know, a name, I guess
Perez and Paris. Right, you have this whole thing. Where
did this name come from? And when you met her?
What did she say to you? Did she say like hello?
Speaker 3 (19:39):
It just I don't know it came because back you know,
it's so funny, like if you're young, you may not
remember this, but back in the early two thousands, Paris
Hilton was as popular as Kim Kardashian.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Oh yeah, there was.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
I mean, if you this is a fact you can
google it. There was a period in time where the
Associated Press sent out this statement that they were no
longer going to cover Paris Hilton because they had been
covering her so much, and eventually like a week or
less than a week, I forget the exact timeframe, but
(20:20):
shortly after that she got sent to jail and they
broke their band on her. The band did not last
very long. So it was just a few months after
I had started blogging. I was back home in Miami
and I was out with some friends and they took
(20:41):
me to some local bars and a club and they
had like a reserved table and I was like, oh,
who's going there? And they said, oh, Paris Hilton is coming,
and I'm like, oh, fun, exciting, cool, And then she
didn't show up, and then we went to another place,
and then the same thing happened, and I don't know
what was going on. I don't know if the promoters
(21:02):
were just saying Paris was coming or if she had
actually told them all that she was going. But I
was like, oh, please, Paris Hilton isn't showing up, but
maybe Perez Hilton is. And then the name's kind of
like stuck with me.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
I love it. I love it. That is so awesome.
I love it. You know, she was huge back then.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
I remember she was like bigger than Kim at that time.
I mean she was everywhere. She had the Cole Show
and all that stuff. I always wondered where where the
name came from, but it's iconic how you were able
to literally resonate and become a household name, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
I just I.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Remember every day going online habitually and looking up what's
the latest news today. It was like better than going
to E or any other outlet. You were the news source.
And the way you told your stories were just amazing
because you said what you felt.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And even today that's more.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Guarded, right, it's so much more guarded online now. And
you're older, Like you said, you have three children your mom,
so you're more guarded as well. Do you think that
cancel culture has played a big role in the way
you tell stories now?
Speaker 1 (22:09):
And do you wish it could go back to the
way it was.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
I don't believe in cancel culture. I like to think
of it as counsel culture and accountability absolutely, you know,
people should be held accountable, But I don't want to
(22:34):
go back to how I used to be because I
made a change for the right reasons to be better
and do better. And I can still be sassy and
have fun without being nasty. And you know, I learned
the importance of not saying everything that I think some
(22:58):
people don't learn that lesson. You shouldn't publicly share everything
you're thinking.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Exactly one hundred percent. And I'm glad you learned that.
And now we're seeing a new side of you. And
you know you're still, like you said, sassy, able to
be yourself, loving the YouTube. Do you think you'll ever
get back on TikTok because we need you there?
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I mean, what's going on with that?
Speaker 3 (23:20):
I would love too, but they don't want me on TikTok?
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Have you, Like, is there any hope? Can we can
we see anything in the near future twenty twenty six?
Like what's the future there?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
I would love to. They just have to decide to
let me back on. And I'm banned for life.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Do you want to talk about that at all? Like
what exactly led up to it? I know it was
multiple things. And then how did you feel when it
all went down?
Speaker 3 (23:46):
I mean, I've never been banned from any other platform before,
like I am this might I'm willing to kiss the ring,
I'm willing to grobble, but I'm all so not going
to lie and rewrite history. I know I didn't do
(24:07):
anything to warrant being permanently kicked off of TikTok. However,
having said that, when I got kicked off of TikTok,
it was December of twenty twenty, and TikTok at that
time was still predominantly a teenager's platform. It was extremely young.
(24:27):
Over the last few years, it's gotten much older and
people of all ages are on there, and I just
was not like I was a very early adopter of TikTok.
I actually started using TikTok in twenty nineteen, wow, before
the pandemic, and back then it was a very ageist platform.
(24:48):
They did not like old people. That expression okay boomer
that originated on TikTok, and just because I was in
my forties when I started on TikTok, I was not liked.
And then in twenty twenty there was one day when,
by that point I think she was already the most
followed person on TikTok. Charlie Demilio a video of hers
(25:12):
showed up on my for you page. She was fifteen
years old the time, and she was at the beach
in a bikini, dancing provocatively to a sexual to a
song about sucking d and I said the following I
(25:34):
left the comment. I said, I remember it. It's edged
into my brain. I said, is this appropriate question mark?
That's all I said. And the response that I got
to that for that was like, you're bullying her, you're
a but like what I all I asked, like you
should have kept that to yourself. That's a What all
(25:55):
I said was is this appropriate question mark? And then
what happened was got it. It was so long ago,
like there used to be this trend called like fairy comments.
They left like all these fairy comments on my videos
telling me to kill myself and all of that, and
then her fans, because she was the most followed person
(26:15):
on TikTok, started mass reporting my videos even though they
didn't break any rules. The behind the scenes of it
all back then was different. You could get mass reported
and get your videos taken down back then, and that's
what happened. So eventually, yes, I had all these videos
taken down for violating community guidelines that did not violate
(26:37):
community guidelines. But listen, I get it. I was not
at the time welcome on the platform by the community.
They didn't want me there. So TikTok listened to their
community and they said, our users don't want you here,
we're kicking you off. And that's their right to do that.
(26:57):
But it sucks. It's definitely a bitter pill for me
to swallow because I know I didn't do anything to
warrant it, break any rules to get kicked off.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, And it's just such a different world today, right,
anything you say can be taken as something People have
a different view, right. It's a generational difference. What you
think is not a big deal, maybe a very big
deal to the next generation.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
So I find that too.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
And Ashley, my co host who's unable to be here today,
who you met at cheer Choice, is awesome, She's my niece.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
We think very different.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
We often have these battles of millennial and gen z
and I'm like, well, I just don't understand why you
even think that way, Like, I can't wrap my head
around it because it's just not how I was brought up.
It's not who I am, right, So it is a
generational thing. And the difference about this generation is it's public.
It's way more public, it's way more out there, so
you can see here and feel the generational gap so
(27:54):
much more. I do think you'll get back on TikTok.
To me, that comment does not warrant you're getting kicked down.
But like you said, the community didn't accept. I'm hoping
they do accept and you get back on.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
And I know I've tried. I've emailed so many people
that work on TikTok and they ghost me.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
The ghost you.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Well, listen, I've been to the office out there. Maybe
me and you should take a trip to LA and
we'll knock on the right doors and get you on.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
We got to get you.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
On and uh probably arrest me for real.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Well, let's see what we can do. But keep promoting
on YouTube. What's the future for Perez Hilton? You know
I want to see more. I'm a huge fan, and
I know people my age are as well. We love
your sassiness, your news. We love you and we want
it all. So where can we go? What's the future.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Yeah, I've got if you enjoyed me on here, I've
got a podcast of my own the Perez Hilton podcast,
and it's kind of like your relationship with your niece.
You know, my co host is not related to me,
but we're very different. We talk about pop culture, but
we're constantly clashing because we the world in totally different ways.
(29:02):
It's great, but I think that's really fun for the listener,
you know, So check out the pesults and podcast with
Chris Booker wherever you stream your favorite shows. And I'm
working on a few things behind the scenes, trying to
you know, it's kind of like I'm like McDonald's, right,
Like I've been doing this for twenty one years. My
brand has been around for a long time. But even
(29:24):
McDonald's is constantly adding new menu items or taking away
menu items, changing how they do things. So I'm constantly
like like when I noticed, wow, my TikTok, my my
YouTube videos are popping off, I was like, okay, well
let me throw some fire, let me throw some gasoline
on the fire. And I started making more YouTube videos
(29:46):
or you know, I'm trying to work on this project
or that other project. It's like you know, throw throwing
pasta against the wall and seeing what sticks. You know,
absolutely like everything that all of the influence have done
or are doing now, like I already did it all,
like and I failed most of the time. Like I
(30:07):
had a fashion brand eighteen years ago and it failed.
I had a liquor brand and it failed, Like I've
you know, I've done it all, but I've learned from
my mistakes and I'm still here and I'm grateful for that.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Yeah, And you know what, that's what it's about.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
It's evolving, it's changing, and it's just becoming, you.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Know, keep growing, whether you've had success or not.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Right, And that's what I always like about these stories
is we're talking to Perez Hilton, the number one top
influencer who was the first influencer ever and still failure
after failure, but came out on top and will continue
to do that because you're not as afraid to take
that risk.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And I really admire your drive.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I love the way you storytell I love your new content.
Keep going. Anything we can do here on ready to
support you. Let us know we'll always share your stuff.
Big supporters, and I really can't wait to see you
on TikTok so oh.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
I would love that. But if not, follow me on
YouTube at Parez Hilton and yeah, I would say, just
to wrap things up, you know, like check your ego
at the door.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Yes, Like.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
I'm not embarrassed by anything, you know, like, yeah, I failed,
and I brought it up like I told you myself, like,
oh I failed my liquor brand, I failed in my
fashion brand. That failures are not they didn't work out,
but but I learned so much from them. Would I
have loved for them to have been successes, Yes, but
that's not reality. Not everything you're gonna do is gonna
(31:37):
be a success. And that's okay. Keep moving forward, don't
let failure derail you completely, get back on track, change
course and keep going ahead.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
And thank you for taking time out. Perez. We love you.
We'll see you on YouTube at press Hilton.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Make sure you check out his podcast one more time
where they can where can they find it, Perez.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
The Forz Hilton Podcast.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
All right, so check it out the Perez Hilton Podcast and.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
We'll see you soon. You can check us out on
R E, d Red and Mishelle Brone online on all platforms.
See you soon. Bye,
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