Perez Hilton outed celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris, Lance Bass and more before claiming the Sultan of Brunei's son is gay
Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton is no stranger to controversies but his latest post has Twitterrati slamming him left, right and center. Why, you ask? Because this time, his claims and allegations could result in some serious repercussions. Hilton has claimed that 23-year-old Prince Azim, who is the son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, is gay. Brunei's new LGBTQ+ law states that those found guilty of male and female homosexuality or adultery could now be stoned to death. Seriously frightening, right?
This isn't his first outing though. Before Prince Azim, Perez notoriously outed a lot of stars and more often than not, his claims have been insensitive and rude.
1. Clay Aiken
Hilton outed Aiken back in 2004 when he was still known as Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. His blog claimed, "Clay may be a bottom and only 26, but he's one helluva sugar daddy." At the time, Aiken was a singer on 'American Idol' who came out second in its second season. Needless to say, the craze for Aiken was real. The singer's fans who called themselves Claymates found out Perez's home address and contact and it all forced Hilton to switch to his current professional name.
2. Lance Bass and Reichen Lehmkuhl
Former 'N Sync singer Lance Bass came out as gay in 2006 but Hilton had been talking about it even before he did. "Two years before I came out I was really bullied on the internet by bloggers, that’s when Perez Hilton just started and was just really malicious against me," the singer told Attitude in 2007. "So, because of the bloggers like him hounding me, all the other magazines started calling me and saying, 'Look, we know you’re gay, you can write the story with or without us, but we have to write it,' I decided to go with People and I think they did a great job." Hilton had names like "The First Reich" and "Princess Frosty Locks" for Bass and his partner at the time 'Amazing Race's Reichen Lehmkuhl, which were offensive, to say the least.
In response, Hilton reportedly told Access Hollywood, "It upsets me that people think what I'm doing is a bad thing. I don't think it's a bad thing. If you know something to be a fact, why not report it? Why is that still taboo?"
3. Neil Patrick Harris
Perez reportedly posted a piece on his website back in 2006 pleading the 'How I met your mother' star to come out of the closet. He even requested his readers to send him photographs of Harris with other men. After Harris came out the same year, Hilton reportedly said, "We are so proud (despite the nay-sayers) in having a hand in bringing about change. We've said it before and we will say it again: the closet no longer exists if you are a celebrity or a politician!"
4. Anderson Cooper
In an interview with Big Think, Hilton said, "Look at someone like Anderson Cooper, who even Out magazine has reported as being gay. Has Anderson come out? No. That's his choice. He's choosing to remain in the closet even though everybody knows he's gay. And that's okay because it's his story to tell if and when he's ready. But that doesn't mean that the gay media, myself included, shouldn't talk about Anderson Cooper being in the closet." While almost all of his previous blogs outing these celebrities have been removed, clearly some words remain on the internet forever.
5. Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster
In the same interview published in 2012, where he outed Cooper, he claimed that Spacey and Jodie Foster were also not straight. "It would be infinitely better for the community if Anderson Cooper came out, if Kevin Spacey came out, if Jodie Foster came out. Why? Because visibility is key. The more straight people see that there are gay folks out there, the easier it is for us to achieve change, the easier it will be for us to get marriage equality, the harder it is for people to hate," he said justifying the claims.
6. Queen Latifah
In 2013, he posted a video on Youtube claiming that Queen Latifah was making a huge mistake by not addressing her sexuality in the media. In the same video, he also claimed that he doesn't "out" people anymore. Earlier, in 2007 he had posted a photo of Latifah and "her longtime lady friend, Jeanette Jenkins" allegedly going "for a romantic stroll around the neighborhood in West Hollywood." He continued, "The pair ran some errands and got coffee. Don’t they look cute together???? Come out soon and play publicly, Dana!"
7. Matt Dallas and Jonathan Bennett
In 2009, Hilton's sources allegedly told him that 'Kyle XY's Dallas and 'Mean Girls' Bennett were dating. Both stars have come out as gay now, but at the time, Hilton definitely seemed out of line.