Perez Hilton slammed for outing Sultan of Brunei's son as gay after country announces death penalty for homosexuality
American blogger Perez Hilton has been slammed for outing the Sultan of Brunei's son -- who is the fourth in line to the throne -- as a gay man, shortly after the country enacted a version of Shariah law, under which those found guilty of homosexuality would be stoned to death.
Hilton posted a video on YouTube where he alleged that the Sultan's son, Prince Azim, is "a big old homo". The young prince has often been seen partying with queer celebrities such as Caitlyn Jenner and Gus Kenworthy.
In the YouTube video, Perez was heard saying, "Y’all know I don’t out people anymore. I used to do that back in the day but I’m making an exception here. I’m guessing the Sultan of Brunei doesn’t know that his son, Prince Azim, is a big old homo. I would know because I have spent time with Prince Azim. It’s so hypocritical this guy’s son is a big flamer, and now he’s enacted a law to stone to death gay men."
Now Hilton is being called out and slammed across social media platforms for his insensitive post, with many saying that he has endangered Azim's life with his revelation.
One angry user wrote, "Do u even understand the repercussions of your idiotic post @ThePerezHilton? U quite possibly could be the cause of this man's life. This isn't a joke and outing him doesn't help the situation. It makes it worse. Especially for the son of the Sultan. You're a father for god's sake."
Another user added, "Outing someone is never ok. Outing someone because of your interpretation of a law of a foreign country that could cause their death? Irresponsible and cruel. Set a better example for your children."
A third social media user shared, "You just don’t get it. Family honor is a thing. He may die for dishonoring the family. Not for being gay. You talk the law like they care about the law and will interpret it as you would. Ask kashogghi about the law."
Another outraged user wrote, "You are broken and sad and sick. You have allowed your personal demons to overshadow common sense and human decency. You have become the very thing you claimed to despise."
Hilton defended himself against the backlash, saying, "The law in Brunei is not that it’s illegal to be gay. It’s illegal to have gay sex. There’s a huge difference. You won’t be stoned just for being queer. And to be stoned there needs to be proof that gay sex happened. There must be witnesses. So, he won’t die. No one will."
He also reiterated his claims in a another YouTube video that was uploaded on April 8.
The country implemented a version of Sharia law on April 3 under which all those who were found guilty of male and female homosexuality or adultery would be stoned to death. These new laws apply to children as well as foreigners, even if they are non-Muslim. The law was met with severe backlash from across the world with people calling for the boycott of the Sultan's chain of luxury hotels and airline.
